Trying to wriggle out of the controversy over Union Minister V Narayansamy's remarks on the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Congress on Monday indicated that the government will not go in for changes in the auditor's institutional mechanism based on the "activities of a person".
Congress slammed former Comptroller Auditor General Vinod Rai for his claim that he was pressurised to drop names of those involved in scams during the United Progressive Alliance regime, saying "sensationalizing" things has been his staple.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is under fire from the former CAG Vinod Rai over the 2G spectrum scam and Coalgate, said he has done his "duty" and refused to respond to charges levelled against him.
The head of Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA), Vinod Rai, on Wednesday termed his discussion with Indian captain Virat Kohli a 'fruitful one' and promised to address their concerns regarding central contracts.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Monday briefed the Public Accounts Committee about his report in the 2G spectrum allocation. His report on a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2G spectrum allocation had created a storm in Parliament and outside. The PAC, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi, is examining the controversial allocation of 2G radio waves and Rai apprised the committee of how the audit looked into the whole issue.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai has asked Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi for permission to react to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal\\'s open attack on him over the 2G report, according to sources.
'As someone who has had the opportunity of cross examining Vinod Rai, extensively over three days as part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, many of us included I had concluded at that point of time that this report rests on the foundation of sand.'
Apex auditor CAG on Friday lamented that private telecom operators are not providing their account books to it, despite a request from the government.
With audits being taken up in a host of areas including private firms now, the process demands trained manpower.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has sent a missive to the Comptroller and Auditor General, expressing concern over delayed audit reports adversely affecting the flagship National Rural Drinking Water Programme. In a personal letter to CAG Vinod Rai, he has drawn attention to the ministry not being able to release funds to the states as they are not submitting audits of accounts of grants-in-aid along with the utilisation certificates.
Attacking the Congress over former Comptroller Auditor General Vinod Rai's claims, Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said the opposition party stood "exposed" and demanded that the identity of leaders who "approached him" to drop names of those involved in scams during the United Progressive Alliance regime be revealed.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation challenging the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
With the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss in 2G spectrum allocation being disputed, Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai and other officials of the government auditor will be asked to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the issue.
Rai said that the best part about central contracts was that it ensured a decent earning for domestic players.
Against the backdrop of dispute over figures of presumptive loss in 2G spectrum allocation, the Comptroller and AG has said the draft report which had put Rs 2,645 crore as one of the loss figures could not "conclusively" bring out the potential loss and merely highlighted "possibilities."
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Wednesday rejected reports that there was pressure from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi to expedite audit work of 2G spectrum allocation and said no findings were ever shared with the PAC.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday slapped a legal notice on ex-Comptroller Auditor General Vinod Rai accusing him of defamation and threatened to launch criminal proceedings if he did not apologise for remarks that the MP had asked the former chief auditor to drop Manmohan Singh's name from 2G report.
India will finish their home series against Sri Lanka on December 24 before leaving for South Africa on December 28. They are scheduled to play a two-day warm-up tie starting on December 30 before taking on South Africa in the first Test on January 5.
'Till the time Indian players say that they are ready to play day-night matches there will be no day-night matches that India will play'
Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman will continue as members of Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) till the new constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India is adopted and the elections take place.
Displaying a washing machine on its press conference dais, the Congress on Saturday taunted the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a closure report in a 2017 corruption case against Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel and said the ruling party's 'fully automatic washing machine' works on the principle -- 'join BJP, case closed'.
"I do not want to boast (about) anything. The court's judgment has to be respected. I am glad that the court has pronounced unambiguously. All the massive propaganda which was being done against the UPA was without any foundation. The judgment speaks for itself," the former PM said.
Unfazed by the delaying tactics adopted by the members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India at its last SGM, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators has strengthened its resolve to implement the mandate given to them by the apex court.
The Kerala High Court, on Monday sought the Board of Control for Cricket in India's stand on a plea by cricketer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth challenging the life ban imposed upon him by the game's governing body after detection of the 2013 Indian Premier League-6 spot-fixing scandal.
Virat Kohli's aura in Indian cricket has grown exponentially over the past few years but contrary to popular perception, he has never wielded 'disproportionate influence' when it comes to policy decisions, says Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai.
The Supreme Court had cancelled 204 such allotments.
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrator chief Vinod Rai was non-committal on being asked whether the COA will ask Team India to participate or allow them to boycott the ICC Champions Trophy, starting in the United Kingdom, on June 1.
The Committee of Administrators announced the elections date in New Delhi on Tuesday after due consultation with the apex court-appointed amicus curiae P S Narsimha.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The crucial service records of Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai are not traceable with the Personnel ministry, an RTI reply has revealed.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, whose reports on irregularities in coal block allocations and 2G telecom spectrum had created a major political storm, deprecated the "brazenness" with which the decisions were being taken, calling it "appalling".
'There should be total transparency in the system.'
The Supreme Court today ordered that former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai will supervise special audit of property of Kerala's famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, which is facing charges of financial irregularites, and constituted a new administrative committee headed by District Judge, Thiruvananthapuram.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya on Tuesday demanded a special Comptroller and Auditor General audit into the alleged irregularities related to the construction of Maharashtra Sadan building along with an inquiry into certain 'benami' companies, which he claimed, had been floated by two state ministers.
'They will be able to ride over this immediate crisis and carry on, but they need to take corrective steps and these will have to be long term measures which must include working closely with state governments.'
Harbhajan has expressed his massive displeasure with the "lack of respect" for the Saurashtra man and the fact that the yardstick to judge performances hasn't been same for every senior player.
The Committee of Administrators (COA) wants BCCI to appoint an Ombudsman and an Ethics Officer at the earliest to deal with any disputes leading up to its much-awaited Annual General Meeting and elections.
Though Indians were no strangers to scams, spectrum loss was beyond their wildest imagination.
Did former CAG Vinod Rai exceed his brief? Was he, as some in the government alleged, planning a post-retirement life in politics (which he had refuted many times)? Or did he strengthen the agency's constitutional mandate by refusing to toe the government line and maintaining a fierce independent streak?
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