Congress questions PM Modi on halt of CAG fieldwork after exposing corruption in government sectors
CAG, used to malign UPA, now strangled, says Pawan Khera
Following many findings by the watchdog that uncovered corruption in numerous government sectors, the Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday as to whose orders fieldwork by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had been halted.
The head of the party's communications department, Pawan Khera, claimed that the CAG, which had previously been used to malign the UPA headed by the Congress, had now been strangled.
"Under whose direction did audit personnel documenting CAG reports get orders to'stop all fieldwork'? Is there any direct interference with the CAG's operations from the PMO or the home ministry? stated Khera.
The Modi administration was embarrassed by 12 CAG findings in 2023, undermining its assertion that corruption had been eradicated.
Khera remembered that the current CAG, Girish Chandra Murmu, had served as Modi's principal secretary when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Murmu was then chosen by Union home minister Amit Shah to fill the office of lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
Khera claimed that Murmu was failing to sign off on fresh reports, and she questioned: "Has he stopped signing the files due to pressure from the big two at the helm of affairs?"
The autonomy of the CAG, according to Khera, has deteriorated over time.
"They generated 55 reports in 2015." just 14 reports in 2020. Even the media overlooked the CAG. No more 'farzi Gandhi' (a dig at Anna Hazare) going on a hunger strike, no more arguments in front of the television in the evening, no more challenging the administration," he declared.
"On the contrary, (a) bulldozer is run over the CAG as officers who exposed corruption are transferred out."
When The Wire reported that the CAG officers in charge of uncovering corruption in road projects, the Ayushman Bharat health program, the Ayodhya construction project, and a few other schemes had been transferred, the uproar over the CAG erupted.
"Why are CAG officers who uncovered the Modi government's widespread fraud being transferred? Did they not follow the unspoken rules established by the Modi-Shah team? stated Khera.
Is this not a blatant example of destroying a self-governing institution? Why were they fired after only a short period of time on the job?
He claimed that the Modi administration has developed a tendency of clipping the institutional wings.
In addition to thousands of beneficiaries linked to the same incorrect phone numbers, the CAG report on the Ayushman Bharat plan demonstrated how money had been stolen through the "treatment" of the deceased.
The Bharatmala road project's costs increased by 60%, and the Dwarka Expressway project's costs rose by 1,400%, according to the CAG. It revealed contractors on the Ayodhya development project received unauthorized benefits totaling millions of rupees.
According to CAG findings, there were other discrepancies at Hindustan Aeronautics, the Udan program, the railways, Khadi Gram Udyog, and the tea board.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed
