On Rafale CAG report, Kharge says govt lied in court, Pawar backs him up

The 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 that the government should apologise for it.

A day after the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale deal, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Mallikarjun Kharge said Saturday he will request all members of the panel to summon the Attorney General and the CAG to ask them when the public auditor’s report was tabled in Parliament.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Mallikarjun Kharge said Saturday he will request all members of the panel to summon the Attorney General and the CAG to ask them when was the public auditor’s report tabled in Parliament. (ANI)

“Govt lied in SC that the CAG report was presented in the house and in PAC and PAC has probed it. Govt said in SC it is in public domain. Where is it? Have you seen it? I am going to take this up with other members of PAC. We will summon AG and CAG,” Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The 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 that the government should apologise for it. Kharge also said they respect the Supreme Court, but it is not a probe agency and only a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) can investigate the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

“I will request the PAC members to call the Attorney General (AG) and the Comptroller and Auditor General to ask them when was the CAG report on the Rafale deal tabled in Parliament,” he told reporters.

Kharge also cited the Supreme Court judgement that stated that the CAG report on Rafale pricing had been tabled in Parliament and discussed in the PAC.

“When has the CAG discussed the PAC report. It has not been tabled so far. Wrong information is being feeded in the Supreme Court. It is a matter of shock... Government should apologise for misleading SC by presenting wrong facts on CAG report before Supreme Court,” he said.

NCP president Sharad Pawar also backed the Congress view, saying the government telling the Supreme Court that the CAG has studied the report on Rafale and the Public Accounts Committee had approved it, was not correct.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said Kharge should file an affidavit or review petition in court, saying he did not receive the report and the committee has not examined it.