By disputing the veracity and propriety of the CAG reports, even by a person of the stature of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, it is evident that embezzlement, nepotism and corruption is there in the 2G and Coalgate scams, opined noted economist Dr M A Oommen here on Monday.
“There is no other reason for such a flare up against the report from all including the otherwise mild speaking Prime Minister,” he said, while inagurating a seminar on the ‘Role and Mandate of CAG of India’ here on Monday.
Underscoring that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has got a constitutional mandate in the realm of expenditure and revenue of the country ,Oommen wondered whether the country was passing through another form of colonisation where natural resources are being plundered by private persons and business houses whose credentials are questionable.
“And the powers that are defending such persons are displaying an audacity to tell that the CAG is a liar,” he charged and observed that what is going on is abetting a minority to fatten in the name of democracy.
The seminar was organised by the Institute of Public Auditors of India (IPAI) Kerala Chapter .
“For the corruption and nepotism involved while looting the country’s natural resources, it is not imprisonment but severe more punishment should be given,” he felt.
“Chhattisgarh could become the richest state in the country for its rare mineral resources. 28 abundant minerals have been identified in that state so far. But what was resorted to is mining of iron ore and selling it at a paltry `400 per tonne and exporting it to Japan,” he noted and asserted that those who are arguing that the CAG has outstripped its mandate and created a Constitutional crisis have either not read the Constitution or are lying.
Delivering the keynote address, T Sethumadhavan, former UN Director of Audit also justified the actions of CAG and reminded that its role was not to follow the policies of a government but to point out anomalies in the utilisation of public finances in the country.
In his opening presidential remarks,former AG and IPAI state chapter president James K Joseph said that the vast force of 45,000 officials, including 120 Accountant Generals, attached to the Accountants and Audit wings in the country are the white corpuscles of the Indian polity.
“A CAG is forced to be honest by compulsion and every sentence in his report has to be supported by relevant documents. It is a painstaking deep analysis process. The touchstone of ‘the actions’ and the report of the CAG is whether there is any public good. It is visible in the 2G spectrum and Coalgate deal reports when the loss of the country was brought to focus,” he pointed out.
“The CAG is the sentinel of the Constitution,” he said.
State Information Commissioner M N Gunavardhan, media personality M G Radhakrishnan and former senior auditor N Shanmughom Pillai also addressed the session.
