Reacting to the alleged multi-crore scams exposed by what he described as "a constitutional, unbiased and credible authority like the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)", Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday said that the situation had now reached a point where the UPA government at the central level "can no longer be trusted with the country's wealth and its future".
Badal said, "The report tabled in the Parliament on Friday by the CAG, holding the UPA government responsible for illegitimate largesse of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private firms, has made it clear that there is no one in the government who treats himself as a conscientious trustee of the assets of the country and the wealth of its people."
Badal, who is also the patron of the state's ruling party the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), said the CAG report has vindicated the stand of the SAD against the "anti-poor and pro-rich policies of the present union government".
Referring specifically to coal blocks, Badal said, "The CAG report has clearly established that that loss to the country's exchequer could have been prevented, had the government chosen to auction the blocks."
AD president and Badal's son and deputy, Sukhbir Singh Badal, described the CAG's findings as having exposed the "grand daddy of all scams". He said the UPA government was behaving more like a usurper than a custodian of the country's wealth. "There is not a single positive achievement that this government would be remembered for."
{{/usCountry}}AD president and Badal's son and deputy, Sukhbir Singh Badal, described the CAG's findings as having exposed the "grand daddy of all scams". He said the UPA government was behaving more like a usurper than a custodian of the country's wealth. "There is not a single positive achievement that this government would be remembered for."
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