Jairam Ramesh should apologise for attacking CAG
PRESS STATEMENT OF BJP NATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARY
SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN, MP, ON
CAG REPORT ON MNREGA AND OBJECTIONAL STATEMENT OF
MR. JAIRAM RAMESH AGAINST CAG
It is highly unfortunate to note that Rural Development Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh downplaying the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report on The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in a rather dismissive tone claiming it to be merely a ‘financial audit’ and not a ‘performance audit’. In the face of large numbers of scams does the UPA government now propose that financial impropriety and corruption be delinked from performance? It is like handing over license of looting the public money with impunity. What is more worrying that Mr. Jairam Ramesh has further stated that it was, “financial audit, it is not a performance audit, it is not forensic audit….In the past 30 years, I have never seen the CAG give a positive observation”. It is an open attack on the institution of CAG and raises a serious question whether the UPA government is willing to respect the professional and constitutional institutions like CAG or not. It is an irony that while Mr. Jairam Ramesh is dismissive about the report he never misses an opportunity of taking credit for having requested the CAG for conducting the investigations. If he was aware that CAG was not in the habit of giving positive reports how come he asked for it? Mr. Jairam Ramesh should immediately tender an apology for having hurt the sanctity of the CAG in highly objectionable language while observing that, “It is CAG’s job to find shortcomings and if they don’t show, it means they are not doing their job”. Does an institution like CAG performs its duty only to show that it is doing something? Such statements are highly unfortunate and condemnable.
The findings of the CAG should be taken very seriously by the Congress led UPA government at the Centre and all the state governments. The report has shocked the nation which was expecting MNREGA to change the contours of the economy and benefit the poor substantially. The CAG report has shown that only 30% of the approved works were completed and only 43- day work against the target of 100- day work per household was possible to be made available to the targeted section of the population. In addition to that a large number of ghost workers in different part of the country point towards the large scale scam that is taking place in the name of the poor. CAG detected irregularities in MNREGA implementation, misappropriation of funds through ghost workers, uneconomic execution of the works, delay in payment, and irregular maintenance of records. CAG found that in many states, the scheme had been hijacked by officials responsible for its implementation and there was open loot of taxpayers' money.
The CAG has so far raised many serious issues and unearthed many scams that remain invisible to the eyes of people sitting in Delhi. Even the anomalies in JNURM, Fertilizer subsidy scam, scam in farmers’ loan waiver scheme and now rot in MNREGA unveiled by the CAG has failed to move the UPA to take corrective measures. Instead of plugging the gaps and loopholes the Congress led UPA is indulging in hurling invectives against the CAG and criticizing it for its findings. The statement of Mr. Jairam Ramesh is not new, earlier also Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanaswamy had floated the idea of a multi-member office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on November last. The Congress led UPA government need to engage in soul searching and take corrective measures so that the loot of public money stops and tax- payers’ money is spent in building the future of this nation. We demand that the Congress led UPA government immediately come out with a detailed statement over the MNREGA and take immediate actions so that loot of public money in the name of scheme is stopped. We also demand that Mr. Jairam Ramesh should tender immediate apology and Congress leaders and UPA ministers desist from attacking highly professional body like CAG in future.
(Dharmendra Pradhan)
MP
National General Secretary, BJP
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