Political leaders must display exemplary values and behaviour in their personal and public conduct, the CAG said.
Amid growing concern over rising corruption in high places, government auditor the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) today asked the political leadership to lead by example by displaying exemplary values in personal and public conduct.
Speaking at the national conference and annual session of industry body CII, comptroller and auditor general of India Vinod Rai also pointed towards existence of governance deficit in the country and asked the civil society to take upon itself the task of cleansing the system and fighting corruption.
"Political leaders have an onerous task of leading by example. They must display exemplary values and behaviour in their personal and public conduct," he said.
Rai added that elected representatives are always under the public scanner.
"Hence, the standards set in politics have a profound and cascading influence on the masses," Rai said.
The CAG's comments assumes importance at a time when the fast-unto-death by activist Anna Hazare and his group calling for implementation of an effective Lokpal bill has shaken the country. This comes on the heels of recent scams involving sale of second-generation mobile telephony spectrum and the Commonwealth Games 2010.
"...whilst we were familiar with expressions such as revenue deficit and current account deficit, we are now being sensitised about deficit of trust and governance deficit. If all this is not depressing enough to normal Indian psyche we have a senior minister pointing towards a deficit in ethics in government," Rai said.
He further said: "This truly drives the last nail in the reputation of the quality of public administration in India. This is where we stand today."
He also called upon civil servants and members of the judiciary to maintain highest standards of personal integrity and probity and set standards for others.
"They must be the drivers to create transparent and accountable systems of governance. Judiciary is an important institution in the fight against corruption," the CAG said.
Commenting that sustenance of the current high economic growth is based on good governance and sound delivery system Rai said the onus is on civil society organisations to see that the structure is brought back on track.
"I propose that civil society organisations have the responsibility to no longer remain passive and expect the government to fight corruption because this does not seem to be happening and probably will never happen...We can no longer afford to deceive ourselves that it is the duty of the government of the day to fight corruption and indeed see them fail," he said.
The CAG said that in the new paradigm citizens, civil society and media have to ensure that legislations enacted by the government are enforced.
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