Central Vigilance Commissioner takes a dig at UPA government

NEW DELHI: Attacking UPA government over corruption, Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar on Thursday said the large number of multi-crore scams had led some to wonder if the “country was losing its way” and flately dismissed the oft-repeated complaint of the bureaucracy about a ‘policy paralysis’. Kumar said this was only an alibi for civil servants not wanting to work in public interest.

Showing disquiet towards present state of affair, the chief of country’s anti-corruption watchdog said as campaigning for elections is in full swing the issue of governance has emerged as a big issue for people. “There is growing anger and frustration against corruption,” Kumar said, referring to “grand instances” of corruption in the form of Coal Block allocation scam, 2G spectrum scam, Commonwealth Games scam and the AugustaWestland chopper scam in the tenure of UPA government.

"Last few years have seen a number of scams running into thousands of crores. There is a general disquiet at the state of affairs in the country and increasing trust deficit between the public and the holders of public authority. Some even wonder if the country is losing its way," the CVC said. When asked about the oft-repeated concern in the bureaucracy that there was a ‘policy paralysis’ in the decision-making as the government officials feared action from the CBI, CVC or CAG, Kumar said he found absolutely no merit in this argument.

"The three Cs – CAG, CVC and CBI have always attracted a lot of criticism. We have always been told that public sector managers are not able to take decisions because of fear of vigilance. But Sreedharan made Delhi Metro, which was also a public sector undertaking, in record time. Hence, I do not find any merit in this argument. This is in fact an alibi for non-action and for those who do not want to work," Kumar said.

Kumar also said that corruption was "so rampant" in India that he felt not enough people were being punished. "Corruption is so rampant that I feel very few people are being punished. However, the most significant development in the recent past has been the rich and powerful have been sent to jail for their misdeeds.