BJD MP Panda submits two bills in Parliament to strengthen office of CAG

New Delhi, April 4 (ANI): Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Member of Parliament Baijayant 'Jay' Panda has recently submitted two Private Members' Bills for the consideration of Parliament to strengthen the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) and to ensure his independence by changing the appointment process prescribed in the Constitution.

Panda, who represents Odisha's Kendrapara region in Parliament, is of the view that the CAG acts as the custodian of the public purse and provides Parliament with information to ensure accountability and scrutiny of the government.

In a statement to the media, he said that he believes that the CAG can do justice to this role only if he is competent, independent and empowered.

And, to this end, Mr. Panda has submitted two Private Members' Bills to Parliament.

The first Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to prescribe that the CAG should be appointed on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of:

1) the Speaker of the Lok Sabha;

2) the Prime Minister;

3) the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha;

4) the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

The committee should take a decision by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the names considered by the committee should be forwarded to the Chief Justice of India who can then use his deciding vote to break the tie.

The second Bill amends the Audit Act that governs the powers and the functions of the CAG to remove the impediments that hinder the performance of his duties. It seeks to make the following six changes:

1) Give statutory backing to 'performance audits'

2) Bring contractual agreements and other partnership arrangements such as PPP within the ambit of the CAG, but protect private players from undue interference

3) Prescribe timelines for reverting to information requests from CAG, lay down penalties and give additional powers such as the power to access premises and examine officials under oath.

4) Re-define the term 'substantially financed' from government revenue to bring more bodies within the ambit of the CAG - The Bill lowers the requirement from 75% to 51% contribution from the government.

5) Allow more scrutiny in cases where organisations receive loans or grants from the government

6) Prescribe time limits for laying CAG reports in the Legislature - Reports of the CAG must be laid before Parliament or the State Legislature within seven days of sitting.

Mr. Panda believes that empowering the CAG is the first step in containing the menace of corruption that is increasingly becoming entrenched in our system. His Bills are a step in that direction.

A copy of the Bills, along with the Statement of Objects and Reasons is also attached with this release. The Statement explains the rationale of each Bill and summarizes its key provisions. (ANI)

I think these are very sensible bills to curb corruption.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Panda.

I would like to forward these to AAP, Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare to take these bill up in their agitation.

Coming from an MP, it should be acceptable to the honest MPs.

I don't think most MPs of the Congress and BJP would support it for they are mostly dishonest.