Why can putting accountability only on officials for policy failure be incomplete?

Because policy design, political decision, resources and implementation may all be responsible

A policy is usually the result of several connected stages, so failure may have more than one cause. The policy may have been designed on weak evidence, approved without proper political judgment, given too few resources, or implemented poorly by administration. Communication, coordination, monitoring, and local conditions may also affect results. Holding only one official responsible can therefore hide earlier decisions or wider institutional problems and may prevent a useful correction.

This does not mean officials have no responsibility; they remain answerable for the work under their authority. The point is that accountability should examine the whole chain: design, decision, funding, administration, implementation, and review. Hence option A is correct because policy failure can arise from political choices, resources, design, and execution together.

This is a Class 9 Civics question. Chapter: Working of Institutions. Topic: How is a major policy decision taken?.