The Hindu Business Line : Utterly unethical

ALL those who care for ethics and principles in public life would have been shocked at the acceptance by the former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Dr M. S. Gill, of the membership of the Rajya Sabha offered by the Congress(I). All the more shocking is the way Dr Gill has sought to defend his indefensible conduct: He says as a free citizen he is entitled to live his own life, without fettering himself "for a hundred years" from doing whatever is in his best interest.

First of all, Dr Gill, with the erudition of his doctorate, must remember that he is not just any citizen: He has held a Constitutional position which binds him to be not only above suspicion, but above even a scintilla of possibility of partisanship or a quid pro quo crossing people's mind. His appointment as an arbiter of fortunes of political parties and candidates imposes, for want of a Constitutional or legal bar, a moral restraint from seeking any office of profit, power or prestige once he retires.

Otherwise, even if his intentions are absolutely unsullied, he cannot avoid giving the impression of having been pliable while in office. The same reasoning applies to the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) and judges. Self-denial is the price all Constitutional watchdogs must be willing to pay.

Dr Gill is only the latest to fall from grace. The Chief Justice, Mr Ranganath Mishra, never thought twice about becoming a Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress; Justice Baharul Islam resigned to become a Congress MP after successfully contesting an election with its help; Mr R. K. Trivedi, having served in the IAS, became the CEC, then the CVC, before landing a Governor's job; Mr T. N. Chaturvedi, another IAS officer, after holding the post of the CAG, requiring him to subject all transactions of the Central and State Governments to the most critical scrutiny to enforce adherence to propriety and probity, fell into the same traps laid by the political class to become a Rajya Sabha MP and subsequently a Governor.

Were they all naive enough to think that politicians lured them with offers out of their unadulterated love for them or their invisible genius? Did it not occur to them that they were meant to be signals to those in similar sensitive Constitutional posts that if they played ball, they will also be similarly rewarded?

It is a pity that Dr Gill has added himself to the dismal list, and set himself up as a poor role model to other public servants, especially in his own Service. Even now it is not too late for him to retrace his steps.

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