Taking potshots at Vinod Rai over his comment that placing reports in Parliament can't be the Comptroller and Auditor General's only role, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Friday asked whether the former intended to become the country's prime minister, if not an accountant.
There is nothing sinister or diabolic about Union minister Kapil Sibal's latest argument regarding the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India pertaining to the loss to the exchequer from 2G telecom licences in 2007.
Government is considering a proposal to make Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into a multi-member body, a move that came under sharp criticism from the opposition and civil society.
In its report tabled in Parliament, the CAG said the Swan Telecom's application was 'in effect against the intent and spirit' of the Unified Access Service Licencing guidelines as it was among those beneficiaries which 'suppressed facts, disclosed incomplete information and submitted fictitious documents' to the department of telecommunication.
The government on Friday asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to suggest ways to curb its rising subsidy bill on food, fertiliser and petroleum products without hurting the targetted population.
Keeping up the government's attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General, Union minister V Narayanasamy on Friday said the top auditor owed an explanation on its estimated loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2G spectrum allocation in the previous auction.
After the flop 2G spectrum auction that yielded only Rs 9,407 crore, government and the Congress on Thursday questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General's estimated loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore in the spectrum allocation of 2001, drawing fire from the opposition. Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari led the government attack by asking CAG Vinod Rai why the spectrum auction had not yielded anything close to the loss it had estimated.
CAG report commands respect and cannot be brushed aside but it cannot be the final word on an issue, the Supreme Court said today while noting that the auditor's findings cannot be gospel truth as it is subject to scrutiny by Parliament.
The accusation comes a day after the President's secretariat forwarded the assertions of the Opposition BJP that Delhi was facing a constitutional crisis to the ministry of home affairs for "proper attention".
The Comptroller and Auditor General can do a performance audit of production sharing contracts
United Progressive Alliance key ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday strongly pitched for a multi-member Comptroller and Auditor General, saying the recent flopped auction of 2G spectrum that netted only about Rs 9,000 crore had proved wrong the top auditors' report pegging the presumptive loss in 2G allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The Comptroller and Auditor General on Tuesday declined to join a public debate on the controversies over its findings on the coal blocks allocation, which have come under attack from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress and critics.
'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.'
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on Thursday decided to examine the four latest reports of the CAG, including the one on coal block allocation, which are critical of the government.
Janata Dal (United), a key ally of the National Democratic Alliance, on Wednesday favoured discussion on CAG reports on coal block allocation and other issues instead of disruption of Parliament proceedings.
The police department had 49,143 units of weapons, of which 11,232 or about 23 per cent, were obsolete, the CAG report for the year ended March 31, 2009 said. There was also shortage of weapons as per Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) norms.
Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday declined to comment on the latest CAG report which is said to have indicted him over a land allotment in Mumbai.
Some documents not yet provided, spokesperson tells DNA Money. Murli Deora's Petromin says report submitted! ADAG once again asks for tabling of report, shows 'proof' govt appointed auditors of RIL expense sheet have conflict of interest.
Lt Governor says discoms must cooperate or face cancellation of licences. Ficci cries interference.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Saturday said that he did not foresee any dilution in the powers of CAG if the organisation is converted into a multi-member body.
The Comptroller and Auditor General on Tuesday slammed the Defence Ministry and Air Force for "several instances" of deviation from rules in the procurement of VVIP choppers in the Rs 3,727 crore AgustaWestland deal.
The CAG, who blamed what he called a lack of accountability in bureaucracy for delays in action on audit reports, said officials who sit over them should be punished.
Government auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General has found that not all disease outbreaks and chemical accidents taking place in different parts of the country are reported to Central authorities which could effect the response to epidemics.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) will soon start looking into the issue of ineligibility of recent licensees such as Unitech, Loop and Datacom, in the wake of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's scathing report. And, take action, if it thinks it is required.
With CAG alleging that Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries was delaying furnishing of records for audit, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday said there was no problem and "everybody" was cooperating.
He replaced Vinod Rai, who superannuated on Wednesday after five-and-a-half years of eventful tenure as the head of CAG.
The recent draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which pointed to misuse and non-utilisation of funds for the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme doesn't mean the programme is a write-off. The audit will act as a deterrent and spur state governments to work more efficiently, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has said.
The case was registered against the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader by Lokayukta police in 2015 based on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said he intends to work with CAG to erase the impression of adversaries in an attempt to restore trust and confidence in all institutions.
Addressing a Comptroller and Auditor conference in New Delhi, Chidambaram said the official auditor and the government have been cast as adversaries to each other in the aftermath of recent audit findings.
Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the finance ministry for flaws in double taxation avoidance agreements
Outgoing Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Tuesday dismissed charges that he was behind the leak of controversial audit reports on 2G spectrum and coal block allocations.
DoT though failed to implement TRAI's recommendations to levy spectrum usage charge
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".
IOA president P T Usha on Sunday slammed the revolting executive council members, saying they 'seem more focused on self-serving power play and monetary gain'
Under attack from Left parties on the Centaur Hotel sell-off, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday
Amidst the controversy over its figures of revenue loss on account of allocation of 2G spectrum, government auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General, on Monday said it stood by the report submitted to Parliament late last year.
Even the CBI has filed a case against some unknown officials of the DoT for conniving with private companies for manipulation of licence terms and conditions.
