No foreign delegates to attend Parliament's PAC centenary due to Omicron scare

Pakistan did not respond to an invitation for the two-day centenary celebrations of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) while delegates invited from various other countries will not be attending it in the wake of new Covid-19 variant 'Omicron'.

The two-day centenary celebrations starting Saturday will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

PAC Chairperson Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told a press conference that they had "tried to give an invitation" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also but "there was no confirmation till now (afternoon)" and that they would once again contact him.

Chowdhury said delegates from 52 countries were invited for the celebrations but none of them are attending due to the situation arising out of the Omicron variant.

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Asked whether Pakistan was also invited, he said an invitation was extended as it was a celebration of an institution but Islamabad did not give any response. The Ministry of External Affairs was involved in the process of inviting all foreign countries, he said.

The PAC -- one of the three financial standing committees in Indian Parliament -- was established in 1921 under the Indian British government to check revenue and expenditure of the Government of India.

Since 1952 after India's independence, Chowdhury said, the PAC has submitted 1,699 reports of which 42 were tabled during his tenure as PAC chairperson since 2019. He also said 70-80% of the recommendations of the PAC were implemented by the government.

Asked whether the PAC would be auditing the controversial PM-CARES Fund, he said, "our hands are tied as PM Cares Fund does not come under the ambit of CAG."

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