Ban sinecure of CAG, Army chief, CEC: Congress leader Singhvi

Kolkata, April 30

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the Army and the Election Commission of India are the vital pillars of Indian democracy and there should be complete stop to sinecure of those who head them, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Saturday.

The country must ban or stop completely post retirement appointments for those who hold such high offices as the strength of institution like the Army, CAG and the EC “is and must remain in their anonymity,” he said.

“Post retirement lollipops affect pre-retirement activities,” Singhvi, also a legal luminary, said in his address at the annual awards ceremony of the Ladies Study Group Charitable Trust where he spoke on ‘Pillars of Democracy’ here.

“These three institutions have to be independent. You cannot have these people in any jobs after they retire. Remember free and fair vote is the heart to democracy. So, any vitiating practice during election campaign affect free and fair vote and that affects democracy … These offices have to be fiercely guarded as vital pillars of Indian democracy and every possible vitiating factor to undermine their independence must be resisted,” he said.

Singhvi urged all political parties to forge a healthy convention to deny sinecure to those who hold such high offices “if we are to make Indian democracy shine”.