Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi on Friday dismissed allegations by former auditor R P Singh that he tried to influence the outcome of the 2G report as an attempt to malign the institutions of CAG and PAC.
“R P Singh’s allegations on 2G report are an attempt to malign Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and PAC by vested interests including the government,” Mr. Joshi told reporters here.
Giving a twist to the allocation controversy, Mr. Singh, a former CAG official, had questioned CAG’s estimates of presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
“After completing the audit of Ministry of Telecom, which was under my direct charge, I prepared a draft audit report covering each and every aspect ... My report did not contain any loss figure,” he had said on Thursday.
Mr. Joshi said Mr. Singh had never raised the issue when he had appeared before PAC to explain the loss to the exchequer caused by the 2G spectrum allocation.
“I wonder why he is speaking today,” he said.
“Singh had made a similar statement after his retirement.
But when we questioned him he denied giving any interview. He was questioned on the issue by the Joint Parliamentary Committee as well but he failed to prove anything,” Mr. Joshi said.
Mr. Joshi said it was impossible for the report to be written under pressure and Singh himself had written it.
On his fresh allegations, he said the former CAG officer has also not furnished any document to prove his claims.
“It (Singh’s allegations) is an attempt by the government to cover up corruption by defaming these institutions (PAC and CAG) which are watchdogs of misappropriation of funds. It is part of that campaign,” he said.
Mr. Joshi termed as “baseless” Singh’s claims that CAG officials had met him at his residence on a gazetted holiday to help him prepare PAC’s report on 2G spectrum allocation.
Asked about Congress demand for a probe into the allegations, the BJP leader said, “Congress can demand any absurd thing. It is their last attempt to cover up their misdeeds.”
