Tweet
Party members in PAC question loss figures, ask Vinod Rai to table fresh report
With the Government hit hard by the 2G spectrum scam, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Vinod Rai, and his team — which pegged the loss at Rs 1.76 lakh crore — faced the wrath of Congress members in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), when it met last on October 10.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the MPs, led by Sanjay Nirupam, vented their ire on the CAG and alleged that its reports were based on “fraud” and “untruth” and (were) “politically motivated”. They also demanded that the CAG “revise” all his reports and “retable them in Parliament”. The minutes have been circulated among the members and attendees.
The PAC was discussing the issue raised in the notice given by Nirupam, who cited certain media reports, which maintained that former Director General (Audit) RP Singh had earlier put the presumptive loss to only Rs 2,645 crore, and that he was overruled by Rai and Deputy CAG Rekha Gupta. Both Rai and Gupta were present in the PAC when the Congress MPs went all out in attacking them.
Raising questions about the functioning of CAG, Nirupam had wanted to know the reasons for discouraging Singh from seeking comments from the Department of Telecommunications on 2G issues.
As per the minutes: “Some members pointed out that since the credibility of all the CAG reports had become questionable in view of the former Director General Audit’s reported revelations on the inflated presumptive losses over allotment of 2G Spectrum, the committee should stop examining other Audit Reports until the matter was cleared.”
After the demand by the Congress members, PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi decided to summon Singh. He will depose before the committee on Monday. For his part, CAG Rai also expressed his desire to the committee to present before it to how they arrived at the huge loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The remarks against the CAG by the Congress MPs were objected to by Opposition members in the panel. “Some other members countered this view by stating that just because one former Audit Officer who was involved in the drafting and finalisation of the Audit Report on 2G spectrum, had said something quite contrary to his deposition before the predecessor PAC, the CAG’s credibility should not be questioned and a message should not go to the nation that PAC was diminishing the institution of the CAG.
“They wondered whether PAC was the right forum to question the credibility of CAG as it had never happened earlier and more so in view of the constitutional status of the CAG and the faith reposed in the institution. They also stressed that the apolitical image of PAC must be maintained. They cautioned to consider the fallout of such an unprecedented move on the functioning of the PAC in the State Assemblies,” the minutes stated.
The note by RP Singh was written way back in May 2010, well before the country witnessed the huge figures from 3G auction.
After the 3G bonanza, Singh himself changed his opinion and along with Rai was a signatory to the final CAG report that was tabled in Parliament. Moreover, Singh was present in every meeting of the PAC, which examined the CAG report. In the latest development, Singh has even stood by the final CAG report.
The minutes also show that Congress MPs demanded to seek clarification from Rai and Gupta for “leaking the report to” media and convening Press conference “to show the Government in a poor light.”
With the Government hit hard by the 2G spectrum scam, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Vinod Rai, and his team — which pegged the loss at Rs 1.76 lakh crore — faced the wrath of Congress members in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), when it met last on October 10.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the MPs, led by Sanjay Nirupam, vented their ire on the CAG and alleged that its reports were based on “fraud” and “untruth” and (were) “politically motivated”. They also demanded that the CAG “revise” all his reports and “retable them in Parliament”. The minutes have been circulated among the members and attendees.
The PAC was discussing the issue raised in the notice given by Nirupam, who cited certain media reports, which maintained that former Director General (Audit) RP Singh had earlier put the presumptive loss to only Rs 2,645 crore, and that he was overruled by Rai and Deputy CAG Rekha Gupta. Both Rai and Gupta were present in the PAC when the Congress MPs went all out in attacking them.
Raising questions about the functioning of CAG, Nirupam had wanted to know the reasons for discouraging Singh from seeking comments from the Department of Telecommunications on 2G issues.
As per the minutes: “Some members pointed out that since the credibility of all the CAG reports had become questionable in view of the former Director General Audit’s reported revelations on the inflated presumptive losses over allotment of 2G Spectrum, the committee should stop examining other Audit Reports until the matter was cleared.”
After the demand by the Congress members, PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi decided to summon Singh. He will depose before the committee on Monday. For his part, CAG Rai also expressed his desire to the committee to present before it to how they arrived at the huge loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The remarks against the CAG by the Congress MPs were objected to by Opposition members in the panel. “Some other members countered this view by stating that just because one former Audit Officer who was involved in the drafting and finalisation of the Audit Report on 2G spectrum, had said something quite contrary to his deposition before the predecessor PAC, the CAG’s credibility should not be questioned and a message should not go to the nation that PAC was diminishing the institution of the CAG.
“They wondered whether PAC was the right forum to question the credibility of CAG as it had never happened earlier and more so in view of the constitutional status of the CAG and the faith reposed in the institution. They also stressed that the apolitical image of PAC must be maintained. They cautioned to consider the fallout of such an unprecedented move on the functioning of the PAC in the State Assemblies,” the minutes stated.
The note by RP Singh was written way back in May 2010, well before the country witnessed the huge figures from 3G auction.
After the 3G bonanza, Singh himself changed his opinion and along with Rai was a signatory to the final CAG report that was tabled in Parliament. Moreover, Singh was present in every meeting of the PAC, which examined the CAG report. In the latest development, Singh has even stood by the final CAG report.
The minutes also show that Congress MPs demanded to seek clarification from Rai and Gupta for “leaking the report to” media and convening Press conference “to show the Government in a poor light.”
