CAG report to be tabled on 25 July, discussion in next assembly session, says Suvendu

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wedneday announced that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report would be tabled in the assembly on 25 July.

Adhikari asserted that his government would initiate legal action including lodging FIR against all those named in it, irrespective of their political stature.

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Replying to the debate on the Home Department’s budget in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said the government would discuss the CAG report during the next session and act on its findings.

“The CAG report will be tabled on 25 July. In the next session, we will hold a detailed discussion on it. Wherever the CAG has pointed out corruption, we will recommend to the Governor that FIRs be lodged. No matter how big a leader or minister is, we will seek legal action against them,” Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister also referred to alleged irregularities in the distribution of relief following Cyclone Amphan and said the issue had remained unaddressed under the previous government.

“I want to remind the House that the Prime Minister had released Rs 3,750 crore in two instalments for Amphan relief. Large-scale corruption took place in the utilisation of those funds. A public interest litigation was filed before the Calcutta High Court, following which a special CAG audit was conducted. That report was never made public, never brought before the House and no action was taken against those responsible,” he said.

Adhikari said his government intended to place the special CAG report on Amphan before the Assembly through a special session.

“We have already constituted a committee on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Once that report is received, we will request the Governor to convene a special session so that the special CAG report on Amphan can also be discussed in the House. Those who delivered lofty speeches on July 21 with large entourages will soon be exposed. We will take action strictly in accordance with the law,” he said, in an apparent political attack on leaders of the rival camp.

The Chief Minister further alleged that several statutory commissions and quasi-judicial bodies in the state had been rendered ineffective by the previous administration.

“All the commissions and statutory bodies in West Bengal were virtually paralysed by the previous government. From August 1, all these bodies will resume functioning. They will be bound to receive complaints and take necessary action in accordance with law,” he said.

The remarks triggered a political response from Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh, who owes allegiance to the Mamata Banerjee camp. Ghosh alleged that the government’s statements were intended to create a climate of fear.

“This is being done only to create a threat perception,” Ghosh told reporters outside the Assembly. He also questioned whether the government would proceed against legislators aligned with the Ritabrata Banerjee faction if their names figured in any future CAG findings relating to alleged corruption.

The Chief Minister’s announcement signals that the proposed discussion on the CAG reports and the government’s promised legal action are likely to become major political flashpoints in the coming Assembly sessions.