SHILLONG, Sep 8: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Sunday lambasted the state government for questioning the credibility of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report and coming up with their own figures and numbers to portray themselves as clean.
“The CAG is a constitutional authority and has the mandate to study financial matters of every state. Every CAG report is always tabled on the floor of the House. How you can question the credibility and authenticity of the reports,” VPP president Ardent M Basaiawmoit said on Sunday.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has recently downplayed the CAG’s State Finances Audit Report on the state’s fiscal deficit and huge outstanding debts, and had asserted that Meghalaya’s economy was growing rapidly.
The chief minister had further stated that Meghalaya is experiencing unprecedented economic momentum, with its growth trajectory projected to propel the state to a landmark $10 billion economy by 2028.
The VPP supremo, however, accused the chief minister of making attempts to cover up the state’s fiscal condition.
He also questioned of the state government considered itself more competent than the CAG to deal with financial matters.
Stating that the CAG report is made after conducting a detailed study on the way the government is dealing with the budget provisions in terms of implementation drawbacks and shortcomings, Basaiawmoit said, “The government should neither reject nor challenge the observations of the CAG.”
