By IANS,
New Delhi : Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Murli Manohar Joshi has asked panel members who made “wild allegations” against Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai to tender “unqualified apologies”.
Joshi, a veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader, has written a six-page letter to PAC members asking the members not to level allegations against the CAG or motives attributed to his findings.
The letter comes after Congress members attacked the CAG in a PAC meeting and objected to his presence when his former colleague R.P. Singh was being questioned over the 2G audit report.
“The honourable members who made wild allegations against and cast aspersions on the CAG in the PAC must withdraw their words and render unqualified apologies to the CAG,” the letter says.
It adds that CAG and his representatives shall continue to be present when a witness is called to depose before the panel so that their expert opinion and advices are instantly available to the committee in cross examining the witnesses.
It said if the members feel the CAG had exceeded his jurisdiction or his findings were not based on facts, they could seek “remedy under the Rules of Procedure and the procedure prescribed for the purpose”.
The letter said no allegations or defamatory remarks could be made against the CAG, who is accorded the status of a judge of the Supreme Court.