The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and his squad of officials, including those from the finance ministry, will have to make more authentic-sounding presentations before the Public Accounts Committee than they did on Wednesday before a less-powerful parliamentary panel if the credibility and image of  the central bank is to be redeemed and restored to its pre-demonetisation prestige. Their efforts were sloppy when they were examined by the committee that monitors the affairs of the finance ministry. While the BJP members of the panel are understood to have pulled their punches (for obvious political reasons) even some of them were not satisfied with the replies to their queries and have even hinted at summoning the Governor again. Despite the contention that demonetisation had been planned over months; and that there was close coordination between the bank and the ministry, an impression has been created that the Governor has been made the “fall guy”. Sure the mantrijis will tender strong political arguments in their favour, officials have to deal in facts only ~ and they had few that projected themselves in positive light. An uncharitable view going around is that in suggesting the exercise had been initiated months earlier the present Governor was trying to pass the buck to his predecessor. The committee got only vague answers to pointed queries, and the Governor must have been relieved when Dr Manmohan Singh went to his rescue by saying he need not opine by which date normality would be restored to the system ~ lest that trigger a run on the banks.

It is unfortunate that the panel headed by Mr Veerappa Moily did not see the need for presenting an “official” account of the deliberations to the media. With the result that Opposition members, who were on the attack, had a field day “leaking” their version of events. Yet the fact that the BJP members, quite adept at media relations, refrained from projecting their own account indicated the gravity of the questions asked, the wishy-washy replies. Did the Governor and his team really expect they could “sell” the line that still under calculation was the quantum of discarded currency notes that had been returned to the system? And if indeed the tally was yet to be completed it reflected the inefficiency with which the entire exercise was conducted. A powerful presentation from the RBI would have helped reject the criticism of a “monumental blunder”. That the man who levelled that charge switched from sword to shield suggests a personal grace rare in contemporary politics: yet underscores the need for a more professional “show” at the PAC. Unless, as widely apprehended, arrogant  netas are still calling the monetary shots.

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