CAG Files Rafale Draft Report Before Defence Ministry, Seeks Reply Within 4 Weeks
Ruling in the government's favour on Friday, the bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had said that the CAG report on Rafale has already been shared with the PAC.
New Delhi, December 17: Days after the Supreme Court stated that the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) has filed a report on Rafale fighter jets deal and shared it with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the audit body has submitted a draft report on Rafale before the Defence Ministry. The CAG has asked the Centre to revert within 4 weeks on the draft report.
The controversy erupted over the CAG report on Rafale, as PAC chairman Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of misleading the apex court. "I am the PAC chief and no such CAG report has been submitted to us. I inquired with the Deputy CAG...He said the report is yet to be submitted," Kharge had told reporters. BJP’s Anurag Thakur Moves Privilege Motion Against Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha Over Rafale.
The Supreme Court's statement which caused a political furore was part of its judgement on a clutch of petitions which sought an inquiry into the Rafale jets deal with French arms manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Ruling in the government's favour, the bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said a probe could not be ordered based on "assumptions" of few people.
A day later, on Saturday, the Centre reached out to the top court, appealing it to rectify the factual error in its judgement. The government asked the bench to amend "was" as "is" and "has been" in context to the filing of CAG report on Rafale.
The Congress, agitated after the court's order, had demanded the government to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe. "A JPC will settle all doubts. Why is the government afraid," asked Congress leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, ruled out a JPC probe, saying, "Truth cannot have two versions. I don't think there is any space for doubt after the Supreme Court's judgement."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 17, 2018 04:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).