The auditors of the country, who are very powerful people and oversee how public money is spent by the ones who govern, in my imagination, pursed their lips while the government official sat in front of them. “Sir,” said the first auditor, “there has been some very unwise spending on your part in building the new parliament building!”

“What are you saying?” screamed the government official jumping to his feet, then being told to sit down by his colleague, who gestured that auditors were very powerful people and could not be reasoned with threats or bullying, as he was used to doing. He sat down mollified, and asked in a whisper this time, “What are you saying?”

“Speak louder!” said the first auditor.

“I did, and you didn’t like it. What I said was, "What are you saying?”
The second auditor explained to him even more clearly what he had just said about too much money being spent on the new parliament building.  

“What are you saying?” asked the government official again, and then realizing he had already asked that question rephrased it saying, “You are saying we have spent too much money on the parliament building?”

“No sir, we are saying there was no need to spend any money on a new parliament at all!” said both the auditors together.

“Do you know who built the old building?” asked the government official, “The British! Do you want to sit in the same building where our previous rulers sat?”

“Sir,” said the second auditor, “Every bit of money in our country has to be spent wisely and prudently…”

“Because we are not a very rich country,” continued the first official.

“And if that same money could have been spent on something which is more necessary at the moment, then our job is to question you as to why the money wasn’t spent there.”    

“Sirs, where else can we show the world we are the biggest democracy? Where else can our men make glorious speeches, and use argument and debate over pressing issues, than in parliament?”

“True,” agreed the first auditor.

“Very, very true,” said the second auditor.

The government official smiled with self-satisfaction, and continued smugly, “Where else can the opposition speak against a motion, watched by the rest of the world?”

“Where is the opposition?” asked the first auditor quietly, “With many of them being put in jail, facing charges to be put in jail, or will soon find themselves in jail, don’t you think the old parliament building would have sufficed to hold the rest of the members?”

“And so,” said the second auditor even more firmly, “shouldn’t you have spent that same money on building more jails to house all the opposition?”

The official from the government looked at his hands. He had nothing to say..!

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