Letters: Doubting the debates

This refers to the interview with Montek Singh Ahluwalia titled “CAG erred on 2G spectrum matter” (January 17). The contentious issues in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG’s) report on 2G notwithstanding, the ongoing public debate in which the political leadership, ministers and bureaucrats at the highest level participate even without checking up on facts gives the impression that there is an undue hurry to bury the CAG report without getting into the real problem.

It seems the fights among top leaders and bureaucrats are being stage-managed before the television cameras by the political leadership to cover up failures. Such tactics are being adopted more frequently these days, without the fear of getting caught, believing in the dictum that “public memory is too short”. The tendency of ministers and top government functionaries to silence dissent from regulators, auditors and judiciary by airing conflicting views in public does not augur well for the free and fearless functioning of the responsible statutory arms of government. Regulators, auditors and judges do not get an equal opportunity to present their cases in public.

M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram