2G scam: CAG to appear before JPC

Former Director General of Audit R P Singh could also be asked to appear as a witness before the panel

PTI | October 31, 2011



With the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss in 2G spectrum allocation being disputed, CAG Vinod Rai and other officials of the government auditor will be asked to appear before the JPC looking into the issue.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which met today, decided to ask Rai, his deputy Rekha Gupta and other officials of the Comptroller and Auditor General to appear before it to explain how the auditor reached at the Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss figure in 2G radiowaves allocation.

Former Director General of Audit (Post and Telecommunication) R P Singh could also be asked to appear as a witness before the panel.

Singh was the lead auditor in 2G spectrum allocation issue and had reportedly disputed the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. Singh had reportedly said the losses were to the tune of Rs 2,645 crore.

Congress member Manish Tewari is learnt to have raised the issue of differences within the CAG on the loss figure in the meeting and demanded calling Rai to explain it. He is understood to have been supported by some non-UPA members as well.

"Since the documents provided by the CAG are voluminous, the members need to study it first...The CAG could be called on November 15," a JPC member said.

The Committee is likely to meet next on November 14 and 15. Its proposed meeting for tomorrow has been postponed due to Chhatt festival following demands made by some members from Bihar.

Rai had recently written to JPC offering to make himself along with his officials "available" whenever their "assistance" is sought.

Rai, along with other officials of CAG, had appeared before the JPC on May 30 to brief the panel on its report on spectrum allocation.

According to CAG, its officials have made "earnest effort" to supply the JPC with all the documents and records sought by it on the issue.

Comments

 

Other News

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres

India will be powerful, not aggressive: Bhaiyyaji

India is poised to emerge as a global power but will remain rooted in its civilisational ethos of non-aggression and harmony, former RSS General Secretary Suresh `Bhaiyyaji` Joshi has said.   He was speaking at the launch of “Rashtrabhav,” a book by Ravindra Sathe

AI: Code, Control, Conquer

India today stands at a critical juncture in the area of artificial intelligence. While the country is among the fastest adopters of AI in the world, it remains heavily reliant on technologies developed elsewhere. This paradox, experts warn, cannot persist if India seeks technological sovereignty.

RBI pauses to assess inflation risks, policy transmission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun the new fiscal year with a calibrated pause, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in its April Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The decision, taken unanimously, reflects a shift from aggressive policy action to cautious observation after a signi

New pathways for tourism growth

Traditionally, India’s tourism policy has been based on three main components: the number of visitors, building tourist attractions and providing facilities for tourists. Due to the increase in climate-related issues and environmental destruction that occurred over previous years, policymakers have b

Is the US a superpower anymore?

On April 8, hours after warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight,” US president Donald Trump, exhibiting his unique style of retreating from high-voltage brinkmanship, announced that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The weekend talks in Islamabad have failed and the futur


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter