Congress refuses to accept CAG loss figure on 2G

Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament, Congress today put a question mark on the CAG estimate of loss due to 2G spectrum allocations, noting that wide variations in the estimates suggest something is amiss.

"Are we really swinging from the sublime to the ridiculous?" party spokesperson Manish Tewari wondered, pointing out that various figures of the loss have been mentioned by CAG officials themselves starting from zero loss to that of over Rs 4 lakh crore.

"We do not accept the loss figure put out by the CAG," Tewari, who is also a member of the JPC going into the 2G scam, told reporters here.

He said, "after all, the objective of an audit is to pin-point.....there has to be a definitive figure. If at all there was a loss, it cannot go from zero to Rs 4.19 lakh crore. Something is seriously amiss there."

Tewari said the way facts have come out in public domain about the estimation of the loss raises a big question mark on the report.

He said new facts have come out through those who have read this process (of preparing the report) from within and those who have signed the report.

"Under what circumstances these were done. What was their official opinion? All these facts raise a big question mark," he said.

Refusing to elaborate, Tewari reminded he would be rather circumspect on the question as he is a member of the JPC, which is in the process of recording the evidence.