Strange is Indian politics stranger is the fact that politicians think and believe that people are fools or can be easily fooled. The recent media reports on what the state auditor or CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) has found on power companies in Delhi is a good example. There is race between the BJP and the Congress to take credit for the report which allegedly states that power companies inflated costs and rates to cheat consumers for thousands of crores. These were the very same parties that did not let CAG audit the books of the power companies for years, but now that the results are out in open, they are busy claiming responsibility. The man who is leading the BJP in Delhi, who is accused of installing meters which run faster than normal, who worked as contractor to one of the power companies, is now demanding a CBI inquiry. The other gentleman who is now the president of the Delhi unit of Congress is trying to make people believe that it was his party which initiated the process of having the power companies audited. Can you believe it?
In its draft report, CAG has pointed out three things:
1. Gross irregularity has been committed by power distribution companies, all norms were flouted, and a fraud has been engineered in the name of privatisation of power in Delhi.
2. These companies have done this with the active connivance of the powerful people, including politicians and top bureaucrats.
3. The cost of the electricity sold to the Aam Aadmi is on the higher side and it should be made cheaper.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raised this issue since the time of its inception. It created a movement in Delhi, and Arvind Kejriwal sat on hunger strike for 15 days, and collected more than ten lakh signatures by the people of Delhi saying that they wouldn't pay inflated electricity bills. Tons of bills were sent to then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. This was the time when AAP was ridiculed by all other political parties and its stir was dubbed a drama to gain public attention. AAP in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections raised the demand that CAG should audit power companies, and the report should be made public. AAP's argument was simple - it was not against the privatization of electricity, but companies should not be allowed to loot in the name of privatization.
In a democracy, be it the political class or big corporate houses, transparency and accountability should be universally applied. And the public has every right to know how its money is being spent. The invention of CAG by the British constitution is a unique gift of democracy to modern governance to keep the government and its institutions financially responsible. But with the unleashing of market forces since 1991, a class has developed in India that, in the name of creating a climate for doing business, is looting public money. It works like a mafia and powerful people are its active members. The 2G scam is a shining example of the brazenness of this class. So when AAP demanded that CAG audit the power companies in Delhi, all hell broke loose.
AAP was even more audacious and it ordered a CAG inquiry when it formed the Delhi government in 2013. Unfortunately, this government did not last long and Kejriwal resigned after 49 days. Delhi was under President's rule; first the Congress and later the BJP ruled Delhi by proxy, but no effort was made to expedite the process of the CAG audit. In fact, when AAP raised the demand initially in 2013, the Congress concocted a lie that the audit was not possible due to a High Court order.
Once the Aam Admi Party came back to power, it only took a few days to set the ball rolling as there was no High Court order that stopped or blocked the audit. May I ask both the BJP and the Congress, even if there was a court order then, what prevented them from going to the Supreme Court to push the cause? Even if the Congress government which ruled Delhi for 15 years did not do that, may I ask what was the BJP was doing since 26 May, 2014, when it formed the union government - till Kejriwal was sworn in as Chief Minister in 2015, it was the BJP at the centre and there was President's Rule in Delhi, so it was upto the BJP to show initiative.
It was at this time in July 2014 that CAG had written a letter to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, complaining about the non-cooperation of power companies for the audit. CAG had informed the High Court in July last year that the firms were not providing the records sought. Nothing was done. In fact, the BJP put up a
bizarre argument that the audit was not possible as companies are not supposed to keep records for more than eight years, according to rules. This statement was made by none other than Piyush Goyal, Power Minister in the Modi government. Ideally, all that the Modi government had to do was make a phone call to the Lieutenant Governor to get the ball rolling, but such is the clout of the above-mentioned corporate mafia that nothing moved till the AAP government assumed power again in 2015. Now, AAP stands vindicated.
According to media reports, the audit shows that 8,000 crores of public money has been looted by these companies since 2002 when the privatisation of electricity began in capital. But it's not the time to rejoice. We have to remember that:
1. This is still not the final report and serious attempts will be made to influence the CAG report henceforth. We all need to be on our guard.
2. The demand for a CBI inquiry into power companies by the BJP is a trap. Everybody knows how the CBI has been misused by BJP/Congress for their political interests. So it should be opposed tooth and nail.
3. An independent inquiry should be instituted to investigate the role of politicians and top bureaucrats and exemplary punishment should be meted out to them and leaders of the power companies.
(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.