Opposition slams Narayanasamy on CAG mandate comment

New Delhi: A day after union minister V Narayanasamy said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was not following its mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it a "breach of privilege".

Narayanasamy, who holds several portfolios including that of minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, on Friday said, "Unfortunately, CAG has a certain mandate under the constitution. According to me, CAG is not following the mandate."

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi that the party will take "action" on his statement on Tuesday when Parliament meets.

Narayanasamy\'s comment came after a report on irregularities in allocation of coal blocks was tabled in Parliament.

"What leaders like V. Narayanasamy have said is a breach of privilege. We will take action on Tuesday," Javadekar said.

Narayanasamy's comment came after a report on irregularities in allocation of coal blocks was tabled in Parliament. The Prime Minister was holding the coal ministry when the allocations were done.

The CAG report on allocation of coal blocks has pegged a loss of a whopping Rs. 1.85 lakh crore ($37 billion) to the exchequer as on March 11, 2011.

"Their corruption has been exposed, so now they are trying to shift blame on others," Javadekar said.

He also took on Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, who had said that BJP-ruled states were in favour of allocation of coal blocks.

"The centre does not work on states' recommendations. They are also blaming the screening committee, but the fact remains that the prime minister's signature gave the stamp of approval to the allocations," Javadekar said.

"The Congress government is breaking its own records of corruption, and is trying to pin the blame on others," he added.

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