'Will PM Modi Have Courage To...': Cong Questions Alleged Irregularities Flagged By CAG In Govt Schemes

Last week, the CAG tabled reports in Parliament highlighting several alleged irregularities in the projects and schemes of the government.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the government over alleged irregularities in several of the government projects.

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Monday took a dig at the Modi-led government over alleged irregularities in several of the government projects highlighted by the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unleash torrents of lies from the ramparts of the Red Fort tomorrow. He questioned whether PM Modi will have the courage to question his own government and ministers about their corruption and incompetence.

Last week, the CAG tabled reports in Parliament highlighting several alleged irregularities in the projects and schemes of the government.

In a statement, Ramesh said, "Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will unleash his torrent of lies from the ramparts of the Red Fort for one last time, taking off from his tsunami of lies to the nation in the Parliament last week. But will he have the courage to question his own government and his ministers on their corruption and incompetence?"

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will unleash his torrent of lies from the ramparts of the Red Fort for one last time, taking off from his tsunami of lies to the nation in the Parliament last week. But will he have the courage to question his own government and his ministers on their… pic.twitter.com/L7ivoBvtz3

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 14, 2023

He said that even a defanged CAG has been able to expose the corruption and incompetence of the Modi government.

"We demand answers from the Prime Minister and also that he breaks his silence," he added.

Ramesh, who is also the party's communication in-charge, shared a few of the alleged irregularities in the government projects and schemes highlighted by the CAG. "CAG has flagged an overall cost overrun of more than 100 per cent in the much-hyped Bharatmala Pariyojana. This project was approved and monitored by none other than the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) that is chaired by the Prime Minister," he said.

He said that the sanctioned cost of the 26,316 km of highways that have been awarded was Rs 8,46,588 crore, as against the CCEA-approved length of 34,800 km at a cost of Rs 5,35,000 crore.

"This means that these projects were awarded at a cost of Rs 32.17 crore per km, more than double the cost of Rs 15.37 crore per km approved by the CCEA. Despite multiple cost overruns, only 13,499 km of national highways have been completed till 31 March 2023, less than 39 per cent of the CCEA-approved length," Ramesh said.

Ramesh added that the CAG has also highlighted irregularities in the Bharatmala bidding process – successful bidders not fulfilling tender conditions, bidders being selected on the basis of falsified documents, work awarded without approved detailed project reports or faulty DPRs and the diversion of funds to the tune of Rs 3,598.52 crore from escrow accounts.

In the statement, he also pointed out that the CAG has uncovered violations of toll rules, with NHAI wrongly collecting Rs 132.05 crore from commuters in just 5 randomly audited toll plazas. At the same time, the NHAI lost revenue of Rs 133.36 crore due to lack of provision for revenue sharing in concession agreements in two sections of NH projects.

"If this audit were extrapolated to the whole country, the overall loss to the exchequer and the commuters would amount to lakhs of crores. Will the Prime Minister take action against the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways?" he asked.

He said that CAG has raised similar questions on the irregularities in the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.