The conflict of interest conundrum has come to surround the appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India too. Shashi Kant Sharma’s appointment has been questioned in court by some eminent citizens: their objections set forth in a PIL are serious enough to merit consideration, although given the fact that this is now sub judice the government cannot act in the matter unless there is a judicial direction.
Besides charging the government with an arbitrary and opaque procedure in appointing an officer to a vital watchdog role with regard to financial prudence and the best possible practices in financial management as a public function, the eminent citizens have brought up some grave charges on this candidate’s suitability.
If indeed Mr Sharma had cleared the controversial `3,500-crore deal with UK-Italian firm Augusta Westland for the supply of VVIP helicopters, the government must answer why it chose this candidate as Italian prosecutors are still investigating the deal and alleged kickbacks. Also, the officer has held such key positions in the defence ministry over the years that a number of deals worth several lakhs of crores have passed through his scrutiny or been directly cleared by him.
Having been stung by many exposes of the previous CAG, Vinod Rai, have forces behind the appointment leant towards finding a soft way out? If so, we are treading extremely dangerous ground in governance.