Your cover story (The Man Who Rocked the UPA, Jul 11) made my day as Vinod Rai is very dear to me. In the late ’60s, he and I were at the same school—Birla Public School, Pilani—as contemporaries, with the difference that we were on the opposite sides of the classroom table; I was his teacher and cricket coach there. Since then, we have kept in touch for more than four decades. We have been so close to each other that he sent his son to Lawrence School, Lovedale, Ooty, where I was headmaster. I remember having written in a report on him, “In Vinod we have an all-round personality and he is everything that all teenagers would like to be: tall, graceful, smart, creative, dedicated, energetic and in the thick of things. Although he is a quiet teenager, he is a person of great warmth and I do sense his emotional life is rich, he is comfortable with himself and others and the social universe he lives in.” He still possesses all these qualities. Tennis, of course, is his first love but he’s equally impressive as a cricketer. He is the best thing to have happened to the cag’s office and, yes, the UPA government.
B.S. Bhatnagar, Gurgaon
Vinod Rai has done to the office of the cag what T.N. Seshan earlier had done to the office of the CEC—installed them in public memory as institutions which have real power and authority. Rai, besides, has a subdued style of functioning, never sounding self-righteous or playing to the gallery. This has ensured the prominence of the institution and not of the individual who presides over it. One hopes that hereon that office can play a more effective role.
P. Prasad Thampy, Thiruvalla
Talk of sensationalism. Going by the title on the cover—The Man Who Rocked the UPA—or in the inside pages—Hawk on His Perch—anyone would think CAG Vinod Rai is some sort of an adversary of the government. In fact, he has only been discharging his responsibilities diligently, sans fear or favour.
Sanjay Sarkar, Calcutta
India will forever remain indebted to people like Vinod Rai and his team at the CAG office. We need to root out corruption, and he has shown the way.
Deepak Nautiyal, New Jersey
The establishment, it seems, has made a terrible mistake in making Vinod Rai the CAG! The guy is now rocking the boat like nobody’s business. Are we really that short of puppet bureaucrats? This side of the story needs to be investigated.
Joshua Miranda, Chennai
It is not that the so-called institution of CAG is immune to corruption. The National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla, in 2011 published a glossy booklet on corruption within the CAG which cuts across all levels of the organisation. The booklet was immediately recalled. Obviously, it was an attempt to hide the true nature of the institution. It is anybody’s guess how many potential draft paras worth more than Rs 50,00,000 have been dropped at the CAG headquarters. This needs to be investigated for, say, the last eight years. The CAG has miserably failed to control corruption among the field audit parties. A common joke about them is: they make a hole in the very plate in which the audit offers the dish. It is common knowledge in almost all the state principal accountant general or accountant general offices in Indian states that the audit programmes are auctioned or are fixed. The CAG makes others accountable but it itself is accountable to none in this country. It’s not audited. That’s why former CAG Shinglu demanded that the CAG also needed to be audited. Finding fault with others while sitting in ivory towers is easy. If the CAG is audited by any independent entity, lots of skeletons will tumble out of its cupboard.
Sudhir, London
This just goes to show that if the bureaucracy—from the ias officer to the lower division clerk—is honest, the politicians cannot indulge in corruption and loot. A minister can, in revenge, transfer an uncooperative babu, but if he is replaced by another honest person, then that action will be nullified. Ministers come and ministers go, but government babus have a fixed tenure once they are selected. We, therefore, need to strengthen our bureaucracy.
Charan Dewry, Guwahati
May we have many more Vinod Rais to make things really hot for white-collar crooks. Let him come up with many more aces during his service.
R.K. Singh, Gurgaon
The CAG should now unearth the scams in international agreements, be it the anti-farmer clauses at the wto summits, or the nuclear agreement, which takes away a lot without giving us any actual benefit.
Viswanath V., Kurnool
Although history is always written about kings, it would not hurt to have at least one photograph of the main staff along with their chief in such articles. That way their hard work and great contribution can also be recognised.
Santosh Gairola, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Yes, the CAG needs all praise, but stop projecting it as a one-man organisation. The CAG reports have always been reasonably good, and its recommendations taken seriously. However, never before was the CAG report made a public document before being tabled in Parliament. This is Vinod Rai’s contribution. He is media-savvy and craves for the limelight. He is no better a bureaucrat than the present lot. He was at one time a stooge of P. Chidambaram, managing his finances.
Pinaki S. Ray, Delhi
I was disappointed to know that the “CAG’s reports are never the final word. It is up to Parliament to decide how to act on them”. So, no matter how great a job Rai and his men do, Parliament can undo it!
TD, Hyderabad
Truly commendable work by the CAG and his team, in spite of extreme manpower and money constraints. We need more people like him at the helm of affairs to keep India free from corruption.
Santosh D., Pune
The CAG is a man of character, courage and conviction. Wish our PM had these traits too.
Samir Rai, London
Bravo! There is at least one honest man in this country.
S.S. Kere, Richmond, US
