Kerala Assembly passes resolution against CAG report

The Kerala Assembly onFriday passed a resolution against the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) report despite strong opposition from theCongress-led UDF over removing parts of the report tabled inthe House containing adverse references on the KIIFB.

The UDF and the lone BJP MLA opposed the resolution,saying it was against constitutional values.

In a detailed ruling later, Speaker P Sreeramakrishnansaid the CAG report containing certain adverse references onthe Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), willbe sent to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after rejectingthe pages containing the said references.

The Speaker said any decision taken by the House isalso applicable to the committeesformed by the Assembly.

Even though the resolution was passed witha voicevote, Congress legislator V D Satheeshan, who is also thechairman of the PAC, opposed the move saying the House cannotchange the report which was signed by the Governor.

''Based on the detailed discussion, the House passed aresolution calling for the rejection of the reference in pages41 to 43 of the CAG Report, prepared without following theprocedure..,'' the Speaker said.

He said ''the Chair'' was not going into the merits ofthe references in the CAG report and the resolution wasagainst the procedure of forming the references and notagainst the audit report.

''The rejection of certain paragraphs which wereprepared without following due procedure does not mean thatthe audit itself was rejected.The government has taken anextraordinary stand in an extraordinary situation,'' theSpeaker said.

Moving the resolution earlier in the day, ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan said certain changes in the finalreport was made by the CAG without hearing the departmentsconcerned and it may affect the ''checks and balances'' betweenthe executive and the legislature.

The resolution was passed with a voice vote.

Opposing the move,Satheeshan said:''How can a statelegislature remove certain parts from a report signed by theGovernor? If it becomes a precedent, other states will alsofollow suit.This currently creates a constitutional crisis.'' The resolution sought to ''reject the remarks''regarding KIIFB from Page 41 to 43 of the state financialaudit report of the CAG.

''The report was prepared without consulting thegovernment. The CAG findings which claimed that the KIIFB hastaken off-budget loans and that the burden on the governmentwas not contingent liability are baseless,'' Vijayan said.

The resolution also marked the CAG report as aclear violation of ''professional approach and politicalneutrality''.

The state finance audit report of CAG for thefinancial year 2018-19 was tabled in the assembly on January19.

Vijayan said CAG, a constitutional body, as part ofits duty was supposed to prepare a draft report after seekingthe suggestions of the departments concerned.

He added that as usual practice, the final report issubmitted after considering these suggestions.

''Here, there are certain references in the finalreport which was not there in the draft report.In short,natural justice has been denied to the concerneddepartment.It's essential as part of natural justice to hearthe other side.If it's violated, then it shakes the foundationof the CAG report itself,'' Vijayan said.

Opposing the resolution, Leader of the Opposition inthe state Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala said the move will seta bad precedent.

Satheeshan said the resolution was unprecedented.

''The CAG had earlier submitted a report inParliament criticising the Modi government. But there was noresolution against it.This is an attempt to destroy aconstitutionalbody and encroachment over its authority,''Satheeshan said.

The lone BJP member in the Assembly, O Rajagopalalso opposed the resolution and said it was againstconstitutional values and was treating a constitutional bodyas an enemy.

The resolution also marked the CAG report as a clearviolation of ''professional approach and political neutrality''.

In the recent report, CAG had said the off-budgetborrowings through KIIFB, which mobilises funds forinfrastructure development from outside the state revenue,were not in accordance with Article 293(1) of the Constitutionand ''bypasses the limits set on Government borrowings''.

''These borrowings are not taken into the disclosurestatements in the budget documents or in the accounts andhence such borrowings do not have legislative approval,'' itstated.

The last and the 22nd session of the 14th KeralaLegislative Assembly concluded on Friday, with assemblyelections likely in April-May.PTI RRT BNWELCOME BNWELCOME