CAG playing truant, says Thomas Issac as he lambasts public auditor

Thiruvananthapuram: State Finance Minister Thomas Issac on Thursday alleged that the Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) has "breached the privilege of the Kerala Assembly."

Issac is under fire from the Opposition who have sought his resignation for allegedly lying and violating the oath of secrecy by deliberately leaking the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on the KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board) to the media.

The KIIFB is a government-owned financial institution formed to mobilise funds for infrastructure development outside the state and numerous projects are assigned funds from it.

Addressing the media, Issac said in the audit done by the CAG for the period 2018-19, in the draft report there was only two paragraphs which had a mention of KIIFB.

"But in the final report there were 4 pages on KIIFB. These 4 pages were not given in the draft and it's the CAG which has breached the privilege of the Kerala Assembly. Of late, it has come to our notice that there are leaks taking place and in it also the role of CAG is there and I was told by journalists that they got the information from the CAG," said Issac.

"The CAG is playing truant and as a result the future of Kerala where Rs 50,000 crores projects under KIIFB is hanging fire a... This is an extraordinary and unprecedented situation. We will examine the legal issues on this. Just as the CAG has rights they have responsibilities and should be done according to the law," added Issac.

While the Congress led opposition has filed a breach of privilege against Issac for revealing the contents of the CAG report before placing it in the floor of the assembly, he said he will give a detailed reply to the Speaker, who has already served him a notice.

"The opposition should explain what their schemes for developing Kerala are and do they have an alternative to KIIFB. The breach of privilege filed against me is not an issue, I will answer. I am more worried about how the CAG is going forward stalling the numerous development projects that has been cleared by KIIFB. That's the real issue and am surprised the opposition is yet to come out with their schemes," added Issac and said he is in the process of preparing a 100-page reply to the CAG.