A day after the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale deal, Public Accounts Committee chairman Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he would request all members of the panel to summon the Attorney General (AG) and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to ask them when was the public auditor’s report tabled in Parliament.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it cannot embark on a judicial review into the deal for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets on the basis of petitions.
Mr. Kharge, a senior Congress leader, accused the government of “misleading” the Supreme Court by presenting wrong facts about the CAG report on the Rafale deal and demanded an apology from the government for it.
He said they respected the Supreme Court, but it is not a probe agency. Only a joint parliamentary committee can investigate the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.
“I will request the PAC members to call the AG and the CAG to ask them when was the CAG report on the Rafale deal was tabled in Parliament,” he told reporters.
Mr. Kharge cited the Supreme Court judgment, which stated that the CAG report on Rafale pricing had been tabled in Parliament and discussed in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“When has the CAG discussed the PAC report? It has not been tabled so far. Wrong information is being fed in the Supreme Court, it is a matter of shock...government should apologise for misleading the Supreme Court by presenting wrong facts on CAG report before the Court,” he said.
