JPC quizzes former auditor on CAG report in 2G scam

A former official of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) told a parliamentary panel probing the 2G scam case that though he had assessed a loss of Rs2,645 crore to the exchequer, he had been asked to sign a report pegging the loss at Rs1,76,000 crore.

R P Singh, the former director-general, audit (posts and telecommunications), told the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) investigating the 2G scam that according to his estimates in May 2010 the loss from the sale of 2G spectrum at 2001 rates added up to Rs2,645 crore.

However, he was told to sign a report two months later that concluded there was a presumptive loss to the exchequer of Rs1,76,000 crore.

Singh had earlier told the media that he had got orders from above to project the highly inflated figure while finalising the CAG report. Vinod Rai, the CAG, is alleged to have over-ruled the auditor and used the inflated loss figure in his report.

Rai is to appear before the JPC on Tuesday.

The CAG had earlier appeared before the public accounts committee (PAC) of parliament, where some Congress members had lashed out at him for his 'exaggerated' estimates of the loss.

PAC chairman and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi had to write to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, expressing his concerns over the manner in which some Congress members had attacked Rai at the meeting.