Union Minister of State in the PMO, V.Narayanasamy, set the cat among the pigeons by talking about a multi-member CAG.

The Centre is ‘actively considering’ the suggestion by the former CAG V.K. Shunglu in this regard.

The Congress may have thought it necessary to clip the wings of the incumbent CAG Vinod Rai.

This move must be seen against the backdrop of his reports that have caused embarrassment to the party.

This shows that the Congress, given its overbearing manner, will go to any extreme to have its way. But for Vinod Rai, the shady deals between the corporate czars and the government would not have come to light.

Still, it must be admitted that on several occasions he has gone overboard on questioning the wisdom of the government on the policy decisions it took with his subjective assessments of “presumptive losses”.

No doubt, CAG is a constitutional body entrusted with the work of overseeing government finances. But in theory or practice it is not instituted as a substitute to the Parliament or its committees like PAC to hold the government accountable for its acts of commission and omission.

On balance, Vinod Rai has done great service to the nation by exposing a series of scams. Any move to muzzle the CAG must be resisted.

G. David Milton

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CAG’s duty

This is with reference to the editorial “Oil slick” ( Business Line, October 10). Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily made an apt remark that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was under an obligation to look into the production sharing contract of Krishna Godavari Block Basin D6 block involving RIL.

CAG’s performance audit is a must to assure that oil resources are tapped by not violating any contractual obligation with government.

N. R. Nagarajan

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