Congress raises questions on CAG Rajiv Mehrishi

New Delhi: Alleging that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi was 'implicit' in the Rafale fighter jets deal, Congress party on Sunday, made a veiled threat to the officials saying that those showing 'loyalty' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were being 'watched'.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, while addressing the reporters during a press conference, said, "Officials should know that elections come and go, sometimes we are in opposition and sometimes we are the ruling party. We will keep an eye on the officials who are over enthusiastic and trying to show loyalty to Prime Minister. They should remember that the Constitution is bigger than anything."

Sibal further asserted that CAG Mehrishi, who was the Finance Secretary at the time when the deal was inked, was saving the BJP-led NDA government in a bid to save himself.

"CAG is going to completely save the government in its report. The whole deal was materialised in the supervision of Rajiv Mehrishi who was the then Finance Secretary. When the negotiations started the Ministry of Finance were part of it," he alleged.

Sibal further claimed that Mehrishi cannot act against himself as there lies a conflict of interest in doing so.

"This is the corrupt deal and fair investigation should be done, but how can CAG investigate himself when he was the Finance Secretary. There is a clear conflict of interest," he claimed.

He also alleged that the government knew beforehand what would be in the CAG report, which, he said, is likely to be tabled on Monday.

"We are doing this press conference to tell people how the government is fooling them," Sibal noted.