Finance minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday that the roles of the government and the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) were complementary, and not adversarial.
“We will try to restore trust and confidence in all government institutions,” said Chidambaram, at the Accounts General conference, on Tuesday.

Citing the recent Supreme Court judgment on auctioning of coal blocks, the FM said that it had brought about a great deal of clarity on the CAG’s role.    

“The authority of the CAG to perform duties and discharge functions is under a law made by the Parliament, therefore while the CAG’s office is a constitutional office, it may also be remembered that the CAG owes its authority to a law made by the Parliament,” he said.

CAG Vinod Rai said that audit is neither an adversary nor a fault-finding mechanism. There is deep respect between the center and the audit department.