Accord Constitutional status to CBI, CVC: Vinod Rai

GURGAON: The government should have the courage to accord constitutional status to agencies like Central Vigilance Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation and the proposed Lok Pal to make them effective instruments for fighting corruption, Comptroller and Auditor General VinodRai has said.



“If you really want some of these institutions to deliver, you must take a risk and have the courage to make them constitutional,” Rai said at a session on inclusive governance at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

He said without constitutional status, agencies like the CBI often face charges that they are working at the behest of the government. “Look at CBI. Often people say it is not independent of the executive and is a handmaid of the government. Similarly, the CVC, which is much feared and much maligned, is only a statutory body and not a constitutional one,” he said.

Rai said it is important to give constitutional status to the proposed Lok Pal to enable it to function effectively. “The Lok Pal should have a guaranteed constitutional mandate,” he said. Corporates, too, should be made accountable and transparency should be introduced in their functioning, the CAG said, adding that it was welcome news that some top corporates were coming together to fight corruption.

“We need to focus on what we can do as individuals and companies (to check corruption) and also publicise it so that others can join and this becomes a movement,” Infosys executive co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan said. There are a number of examples of individuals, like the CAG, making extra effort to make the system better, Gopalakrishnan said.

“We need to scale this up. In a democracy, we have to work through the political system. We have to create institutions that are strong and put pressure on the government by mobilising public opinion,” he said.

Eicher Motors managing director and chief executive Siddhartha Lal said corruption has been growing “exponentially” in the country where, until recently, it was a zero risk and infinite returns proposition. “But now, the risk has started coming in and returns have declined,” he said.

Lal said he is optimistic of the growing public opinion against corruption, which has the potential to change things. “It is darkest before dawn. Because of growing public opinion, I have a feeling that something is going to happen,” he said.