CAG should plug leaks from his office: Digvijay

The Congress leader took a dig at the Comptroller and Auditor General for his 'valuable advice' on providing constitutional backing for the CBI and CVC

Congress leader Digvijay Singh yesterday took potshots at the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for his “valuable advice” on providing constitutional backing for the CBI and the CVC and wondered why he was not taking steps to “stop leaks of reports” from his office.

He was addressing reporters a day after CAG Vinod Rai said the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Vigilance Commission should be given constitutional backing to enable them to function independently.

Mr Fix-it:u00a0A few days ago Digvijay Singh had tweeted, “CAG interim report again leaked. Would CAG, instead of sermonising everyone, please look into his Leaky Office.” File pic

“The CAG keeps giving the government valuable advice but why is he not doing anything to stop the leaks of reports?” Digvijay Singh said. He added that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had been pressing for constitutional status for the Lokpal, “but the BJP is opposed to it”.

Digvijay Singh had tweeted a few days ago, “CAG interim report again leaked. Would CAG, instead of sermonising everyone, please look into his Leaky Office.”

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said Rai’s remark applied to the CAG himself. “If he (Vinod Rai) talks about brazenness in decision-making and it refers to the time period of this particular government, I think it would be worth its while to recall that he (Rai) was part of the same government from 2004 to 2008,” Tewari said.

“So, I guess that when he talks about brazenness, that paradigm equally applies across the board to everybody who is part of the government,” Tewari added.

However, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said the CAG’s suggestions, made at the World Economic Forum Wednesday evening, were important.

“That the CBI and the CVC need to be given constitutional status is an important suggestion, and the nation must debate on it,” said Javadekar.

The government is under attack for alleged corruption in the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks following leakage of the relevant reports of the CAG, which said these had led to huge losses to the exchequer. u00a0u00a0

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