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Guilty will be punished, asserts Gogoi

By Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Nov 27 � The stage is set for a confrontation between Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi and the Opposition over the Comptroller and Auditor General�s (CAG) report on financial irregularities in North Cachar Hills, even as he promised action against those involved in the scam.

�I can neither deny nor confirm this, because I have not seen the CAG report,� the Chief Minister said.

Reacting sharply to Opposition leader, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta�s demand for his resignation, Gogoi dismissed all the allegations of wrongdoing on his part. He contended that he is yet to see the CAG report. �I don�t know from where he got the report,� he said.

The CAG report was first carried by this newspaper leading to a fresh round of exchange of words between the Opposition and government.

The CAG report would first go to the Governor, who will then place it in the North Cachar Autonomous Hills District Council, though a copy would come to the State Government eventually.

Interestingly, Gogoi chose to tread cautiously over the CAG�s finding, given the surcharged atmosphere at the Centre over the fallout of CAG�s report on 2 G spectrum allocation imbroglio that cost Telecom Minister, A Raja his job.

�If the CAG report reveals misappropriation, we will refer it to the CBI for further probe,� he said.

�Even the National Investigation Agency�s report related to the misappropriation was referred to the CBI. We will take action against anybody, no matter who,� he said.

�I will quit politics and challenge him (Mahanta) to prove the allegations,� he thundered.

�Where is my involvement in the scam? It was I, who called for special audits in 2008 on the basis of the Manisana Committee�s recommendation. It led to arrest of Mohit Hojai and R H Khan in 2009. On the other hand, the man who is calling for my resignation was himself involved in the multi-crore rupee �LoC scam�, he charged.

�When I ordered the special audit, the Opposition was sleeping and was unaware of what was happening next door. A report in a national magazine led to their awakening,� he observed.

The Chief Minister, however, admitted that N C Hills may have received excess funds. It happens all the time and it has happened in the past, as well. There may be such irregularities in some cases but the question is whether there has been misappropriation. The Public Accounts Committee, which is always headed by the Opposition, looks into such cases of release of excess funds, he reasoned.

Mahanta, quoting from the CAG report had alleged that auditors detected irregularities to the tune of over Rs 400 crore, against the State Government�s estimate of Rs 40 crore.

The Chief Minister also refuted the allegation that only eight of the 30 departments were handed over for audit. �The CAG is free to audit any departments it chooses, though the State Government at times may identify some departments, if it has any suspicion,� he contended.

Describing Mahanta as a �manage master�, Gogoi said he is not in the habit of scuttling any probe. He was reacting to the charge that the State Government did not cooperate with the auditors. How can Government of Assam refuse to cooperate with a Constitutional authority, he argued.

�Mahanta, perhaps was the only Chief Minister in the country, who managed to get a reprieve from the Governor, who denied permission to the CBI to prosecute him,� remarked Gogoi.

The Chief Minister also took a dig at BJP MP Ramen Deka for his remarks, countering that the saffron party should first set its house in order, referring to the Karnataka fiasco.

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