CAG to appear before house panel

The Comptroller and Auditor General, whose leaked report led to the resignation of former telecom minister A Raja for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, will appear before the public accounts committee of the Parliament on Monday.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), whose leaked report led to the resignation of former telecom minister A Raja for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, will appear before the public accounts committee of the Parliament on Monday.

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"Briefing by and interaction with the CAG of India on the audit report on the issue of licences and allocation of 2G spectrum," stated the agenda for the PAC meeting to be chaired by veteran BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi.

CAG Vinod Rai is expected to appear along with a team of officials from the country's apex regulator, which has put the estimated loss in the spectrum scam at R1.76 lakh crore.

The PAC will continue with its examination of the controversial allocation of 2G radio waves and Rai is likely to put forth his point-of-view before the panel. "According to parliamentary rules, the PAC is the forum for analysing the CAG report and that is likely to be done in Monday's meeting," said a member of the committee.

The meeting assumes significance following PM Manmohan Singh's offer to appear before the committee. Though there has been no official word from the PMO on the issue, nor has any formal request been made, committee sources said.

The decision to ask the CAG to appear was taken during the panel's last meeting. In its last meeting, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura is understood to have told the panel that all decisions related to allocation were taken by Raja.