Your editorial on the three reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) higlighted the need for account­ability by governing institutions (“Accountability – Is It Just a Word?”, EPW, 1 September 2012).

Another key word in this issue is “legitimacy”. We are observing here and there not only politicians but also some political pundits, raising their eyebrows against what they call “institutional ­rebellion” in Indian democracy. On the contrary, one should admire the resilience of the Constitution, which has an in-built “compensatory activism” in our democratic institutions with separation and balancing of powers in institutions like the judiciary, the Central Election Commission and the CAG.