It's time Public cleansed system: CAG Vinod Rai

NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Friday lent muscle to the Anna Hazare's fight against corruption by saying that it was time the public took on the responsibility of cleansing the system.

Speaking at the annual conference of the CII, Rai said civil society can no longer remain passive and expect the government to fight corruption. "That model has failed. The government will not deliver till we make it deliver," he said in a stinging indictment of the government. It was the CAG that unearthed the humungous 2G spectrum allocation scandal.

Rai said opinion leaders have to ensure that they have a credible voice and that they are heard. "That will make babus like me deliver," he said.

He said that he was proposing a paradigm shift, "from the old paradigm of government action and civil society inaction." He said the country was at a juncture where there is little hope, but added that a vibrant civil society can change it. "Can we roll back the situation? The answer is an emphatic yes," he said.

Rai, who referred to Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that there was a deficit of ethics in government, said such admissions explain the state of affairs in the country. "We were familiar with expressions such as revenue deficit and current account deficit... we are now being sensitised about deficit of trust and governance deficit.

If all this is not depressing enough to normal Indian psyche we have a senior minister pointing towards a deficit in ethics in government. This truly drives the last nail in the reputation of the quality of public administration in India. This is where we stand today," he said.

He also called upon civil servants and members of the judiciary to maintain highest standards of personal integrity and probity and set standards for others. "They must be the drivers to create transparent and accountable systems of governance. Judiciary is an important institution in the fight against corruption," the CAG said.