Government ups the ante in 2G row with CAG
24 Nov 2012
Upping the ante in its battle with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the UPA government on Saturday called on the constitutional authority to debate its controversial 2G report in an open public platform.
''The nation needs to know how Rs2,645 crore of loss (in the allocation of 2G spectrum) turned into a presumptive loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore,'' demanded Manish Tewari, the minister of state for information and broadcasting.
''It can happen only if the CAG is prepared to debate the entire 2G report on an open public platform of its own choosing.''
Government leaders, who have all along been wary of taking on the CAG, have suddenly become bolder after two key events relating to the telecom sector. One was the disastrous response from the industry earlier this month to the 2G GSM spectrum auction, when the government could get a mere Rs9,400 crore, as against a target of Rs40,000 crore.
The second was the allegation by a former senior CAG official, R.P. Singh, the retired director-general, audit (telecommunications), that his views on the potential loss figure had been rejected by the top boss and that he was forced to endorse the loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore. Singh said he was sent ''a heavily revised report'' and was given instructions to sign on the document.
Singh also accused BJP leader Murali Manohar Joshi, who is also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), of influencing the CAG report which came out with the loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore.
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