<b>Newsmaker:</b> Vinod Rai, batting on a perilous pitch

Rai has a job that is as arduous and taxing, if not more so, as the CAG's job

Former Comptroller & Auditor General Vinod Rai is probably facing the biggest challenge in his professional life because his hard-won credibility rests on this job: the chairmanship of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), a post that the Supreme Court ordered him to accept.

This is the same Supreme Court that batted for him when, as CAG, there was a petition for his removal on the grounds that reports on Coalgate, airport privatisation and the power sector went beyond the CAG’s constitutional mandate. In an order in that case, the apex court clearly stated: “Do not confuse the constitutional office of CAG with that of an auditor of a company or corporation”. The 

Supreme Court also made it clear to the government that the CAG was free to venture into policy matters and the government shouldn’t treat the body as its “munimji”.

Little wonder then, it was to Rai the Supreme Court turned to clean up the affairs of BCCI after sacking Anurag Thakur and others running the cricket administration body.  However, Rai was made aware of the perilous nature of his new assignment after the first meeting of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) to which he has been named chairman. The committee had its first meeting on 31 January and dealt briskly with the first problem on hand: who would represent BCCI at the International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai. The composition of the team that represents India was crucial because one of the issues on the ICC agenda was India’s revenue share of world cricket. The joint-secretary and treasurer of BCCI, Amitabh Chaudhary and Anirudh Chaudhry, believed they should be the reps. Rai didn’t think so and asked his team-mate, IDFC MD & CEO Vikram Limaye to represent India. But the two  approached the Supreme Court which overturned Rai’s order and finally Limaye, Amitabh and Anirudh were all asked to go.

Bigger challenges are ahead. February 21 will see the start of auctions for the Indian Premier League (IPL). It is unlikely that CoA will change this date. How will the auctions be conducted? IPL bidding is almost as competitive as the matches themselves. So it is worth asking if Rai has a job that is almost as arduous and taxing, if not more so, as the CAG’s job.

The interesting thing is, Rai is not a cricket player. He plays tennis — almost every single day, if he can. On the other hand, you could say that what is required in BCCI is not cricketing genius but able administration.

That Rai assuredly has. Rai belongs to the Kerala cadre of the IAS (1972) and recalls with great fondness his first posting in Thrissur, the district which has a 60 per cent Hindu, 20 per cent Christian and 20 per cent Muslim population. It was during his tenure that he organised a visit by Pope John Paul II who had come to India at the time. “I was fortunate to get complete support from the chief minister, Karunakaran, and the people of Thrissur. In fact, as CAG, they held a function to mark the silver jubilee of the Pope’s visit and invited me to attend,” he told Business Standard in an interview some years ago. 

The CPI(M)-led Left Front government in power in Kerala today has some Rai fans, especially Finance Minister  Thomas Isaac.  “In 1996, the Left Democratic Front government decided to give at least 40 per cent of the funds to local governments as part of our policy to decentralise power,” Isaac told an interviewer some years ago. “As finance secretary, Rai provided immense support to our efforts. He was committed to the idea of decentralising power.” Equally, while he was serving in Thrissur, the BJP-RSS parivar decided to ostracise a school teacher for not letting his students sing the national anthem. Although a section of the ruling United Democratic Front too wanted the arrest of the teacher, Rai persuaded the school management to transfer the teacher, thus averting a full-blown communal confrontation. 

But has Rai bitten off more than he can chew this time? He has to clean up BCCI, re-establish systems and report to the Supreme Court — it’s not easy, but if anyone can do it, it is him. In between, he also has to find time to appoint bank chiefs and suggest reforms to strengthen the banking system  as the chairman of the Banks Board Bureau.