Be Intelligent about Intelligence!

The country is debating on a very key issue of whether to bring CBI under the purview of Lokpal or sorry is it Jan Lokpal? Time will tell. As I write on this topic, more as an after thought or a pre-thought , I feel no one is serious about Jan Lok Pal. Of course not the Government and neither the “team Anna”. Had they been, by now we would have seen some result, a creation of a middle path acceptable to all stake holders. But in reality it has become opposite, the stakes of different representative groups are just going up not to merge anywhere.

Anyways, this battle is going to continue for some more time but it is indeed important to look into this demand to include CBI under Lokpal. Is it warranted? Is it a healthy trend for democratic system?

What is CBI? CBI is a Government of India agency with the primary function of intelligence gathering, criminal investigation & ensuring national security especially financial security. It is a serious role and profile and has been done over the years by CBI.

Before we go any further, let us look at the key functions of CBI. This is because it is very important to understand that CBI as an intelligence agency is more involved in overall maintenance of system, saving it from corruption & crime. This is DIFFERENT from other agencies like RAW, IB, NIA which is more direct;ly responsible for the foreign & internal intelligence to safe guard our security again from external & internal threats.

The basic role of CBI can be summarized as follows :

·        Cases which are essentially against Central Govt. employees or concerning affairs of the Central Govt. and the employees of the Central Public Sector Undertakings and Public Sector Banks.

·        Cases in which the financial interests of the Central Government are involved.

·        Cases relating to the breaches of Central Laws with the enforcement of which the Government of India is mainly concerned.

·        Big cases of fraud, cheating, embezzlement and the like relating to companies in which large funds are involved and similar other cases when committed by organised gangs or professional criminals having ramifications in several States.

·        Cases having interstate and international ramifications and involving several official agencies where, from all angles, it is considered necessary that a single investigating agency should be incharge of the investigation.

The pointers above indicate that CBI is entrusted with a very important responsibility. To keep the system  free of any anamoly deemed to be because of any impertinent act of Central / State Government. Also, the role warrants a strong monitoring of financial regulations and ensure that the same are not breached.  Has CBI been able to fulfill it’s role?

But there has always been a big question mark over the INTENT of CBI. It has been alleged that CBI has always been more of a political intelligence wing of the government in power. This allegation took on a major shape during the current UPA-II rule. There has been such allegation in the past as well but the enormity of the recent allegations has surpassed them all. A few of them are -

• In the recent 2G scam, enough voice has been raised on CBI allegedly trying to protect the mail perpetrators and also been trying to shield the present Union Home Minister
• It allowed Quattrocchi to go scot free despite a major allegation against him in Bofors scandal
• In ISRO spying scandal, again CBI was not upto mark and it covered facts
• It had been a virtual lameduck in allowing the Congress government to let Warren Anderson to leave the country after Bhopal gas Tragedy
• Another instance of CBI being politically motivated is its more than required pro active approach on Sohrabuddin encounter case. It was alleged to have played into the hands of Central govt to implicate Mr. Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujrat

There are enough and more such allegations. With so many allegations, it can not evade our attention that indeed there is some fair amount of conviction in them. Moreover, CBI through it’s own actions have not done much to repeal these allegations. Much has been desired in its actions.

There is no point in further going into the merits of such allegations but fact remains that CBI has indeed often played into the hands of the government or has been forced to play into its hands. The results, in essence, was the same.

Having said so, let us look into the demand to include CBI in the Lok Pal as demanded by “Team Anna”. Is it credible? Moreover, there has been demand from many people that CBI should be independent.

Yes, there are allegations but as a whole CBI has been involved in many cases not always politically motivated. Not all the people, in this agency, are politically motivated. it is doing work and as witnessed, if under severe public scrutiny, it has delivered results, even if it not to its own liking or liking of political masters.

Now if it is part of Lokpal, what difference will it make? What is the guarantee of its fair functioning? Presently, CBI is reporting to the Home Minister , now it will report to Lokpal. An individual! At the end of the day, it does not get completely filtered, does it? What is the guarantee that Lokpal tomorrow does not use CBI to his/her advantage?

Besides, Lokpal is not bigger than the government of India, it can not be and it should not be. For a machinery like CBI to work smoothly, it needs the support of the government. Ultimately, all the executive decisions come from the GoI. Suddenly, this change in the system will definitely effect the functioning of CBI.

Also, CBI has to be discretionary. There are ceratin fund wise decisions which can be ad-hoc ( I mean unaccounted for). It is no one’s business to  ponder over the same. we must respect the basic intent of this department. Wheteher it is implementing or not is another question!

For those, who are saying that CBI should be independent of the GoI, ia sk them about accountability. Who will be accountable in that case? Somewhere the chain of command has to end and as I see it, it ends and should end with the GoI. A global example for a quick rejoinder, Mi-5 (the internal intelligence division of british secret service) report to the Home secretary who is the contemporary of our Union Home Minister. This is how it should be. And I am sure, if we delve deep in to MI-6, we might see examples of politically motivated actions there as well.

So what is the solution?

• I feel CBI can not be a part of Lokpal. No new system, especially concerned with the internal financial security, is highly unwarranted. Besides, there is nothing to prove that Lokpal willl be insulated from any corruption. Just a word of Annna Hazare or Arvind Kejriwal is not enough.

• The government interference in the appointment of the director of CBI has to be stopped. Let him be selected by a special board comprising of members of other agencies. This creates better co-ordination too.

• The Home Secretary should be the last point of contact for the CBI Director. In this case, the politician Minister does not get the right to interact and thus influence the CBI representative on face to face basis. The selection of Home Secretary should again be basis the experience and years spent in the department.

• Besides, as a mandate CBI should be asked to submit the report on any case to the Home Secretary. The copy of the same should be shared with Union Home Minister, Leader of Opposition and a representative of the Supreme Court. This insulates any kind of ill feeling and ensures that all the stake holders are aware of the developments.

• The thin line of government control has to be maintained for the fund sanctions. The usage of the same can be monitored of CAG. Moreover, a special budget  can be sanctioned by GoI for ‘undisclosed expenses’ under the special sanction of CBI Director & Home  Secretary

I feel it is good to draw a line between genuine and farcical demands. The current demand of Anna Hazare to include CBI is bereft of any merit & logic. It has become more of an egotistical call. At the same time, CBI has to pull up its socks and start delivering to the expectations of the stake holders.

The past errors can be learning for all of us and especially the GoI to create a better future. The business of managing Intelligence is no child play and we need to be fairly intelligent enough to have a say in the running of this business.