The run-up to the Commonwealth Games was swamped in accusation and rumour, as many of the budget overruns and spending decisions surrounding the event were picked apart by a critical chorus. Big multi-sports events have a way of showing up the host’s weakest link, and the last-minute scramble seemed to expose India’s much cited inefficiency and lack of coordination. In the aftermath of the CWG, however, the system has swung into action with a striking focus. A plethora of investigating agencies have stirred into action: the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Central Vigilance Commission, the Enforcement Directorate, income tax authorities. Even retired investigators have been summoned. And as proof that their promise of haste is serious, the entire edifice responsible for organising the Games has now been placed in the dock: guilty until proven innocent.
This is the instinct of the banana republic, a grand sweeping away of all that has gone before, tarring each element with the same brush of corruption and wrongdoing. To demonstrate their zeal, the investigating agencies have plucked out four supposedly errant companies, and raided Sudhanshu Mittal who has been a long-time BJP associate. The opposition has flung the blame right back at the government, saying that all cost escalations had been signed off by the prime minister’s office. This cycle of action and counter-reaction is not the way of mature democracies with functioning parts.
It is important that we undertake a patient systems check instead of picking on a few. This devalues the investigation, and does immeasurable harm to public faith in our punitive processes. Instead of a generalised sense that everyone is complicit, we need a clear account of who veered from the script — and that must include the abdication of leadership at the highest level, starting with the Union sports and urban development ministers. After all, the CWG were also a labour of love for many who helped organise them, and it demeans their energy, commitment and integrity if, at the end of it all, they are looked upon with reflexive suspicion, and the investigation acquires a political hue. Right now, there is a sense that public anger is being wielded as a political instrument — a dangerous instinct for a democracy. We don’t need a showy purge, we need responsible accounting — and the assurance that our democracy has the institutional processes to ensure transparency and accountability as part of its normal rhythms without opting for a witch-hunt.
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