Rai's comment on CAG role draws flak from govt

National auditor reduced to a mere accountant

Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai has drawn flak from the government for his latest remarks that the national auditor was considered to be mere accountants to conduct mechanical audit of the State’s expenditure in India and the “highest in the land” was advising it not to exceed its mandate.

The CAG made the remarks while delivering a speech on Social Obligation of Public Auditors at Harvard Kennedy School in the US on Thursday.

“It is most unfortunate that CAG, rather than validating the integrity of his numbers (on presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2G spectrum allocations), chooses to criticise the government on foreign soil and at a foreign fora,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said, reacting to Rai’s speech.

Speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School, Rai said in most of the countries, including India, auditors general were constitutionally mandated to conduct audit of government departments and report their findings to the Parliament.

“What we have been introspecting is whether our constitutionally mandated responsibility ends the moment we have placed our reports in the Parliament or is it in any way beyond this mechanical function that we perform,”

To get an answer to this query, the CAG said the constitutional body which he heads looked at the constitutional position of supreme audit institutions in certain other parliamentary democracies.

“This was at the time, when we were being advised by the highest in the land, not to exceed our mandate which they believe to be mere accountants and to conduct mechanical audit of government's expenditure.  We were being advised not to get into the realm of auditing policy formulation,” he added.  

He said a question repeatedly arise at the CAG of India whether the Parliament and the public at large, expect it to be “mere accountants and do arithmetic” over government expenditure.

“If it was so, then why should constitutions worldwide appoint such high dignitaries as auditors general and give them independence, freedom from the executive and accord them a constitutional position. Evidently, what was envisioned in the constitution was more than expecting them to be mere accountants,’ he contended.

Reacting to this, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said it was not first time that Rai had made such remarks against the government.

“I think constitutional authorities, you know, should circumscribe by the Lakshman Rekha propriety,” he added.

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh also criticised the CAG for his comments, wondering if Rai was now aspiring to become the Prime Minister, instead of an accountant.

Rai, in his speech at Harvard Kennedy School, also said the CAG had commenced pushing the envelope and going beyond “hitherto practiced conventional and conservative methodology”, as there was “paradigm shift” in civil society in India and the national auditor “indeed” owe an obligation to the society at large.

Keep off PM issue: Yadav

Janata Dal United (JDU) president and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Convenor Sharad Yadav on Friday warned corporate groups not to indulge in projecting a Prime Minister for the country. He fell short of naming the corporates, reports DHNS from New Delhi.“They are playing with fire. We have a robust democracy with 543 Members of Parliament (MPs). This is the job of political parties and MPs to decide who should be the prime minister,” Yadav told reporters.