The Left parties have demanded a change in the existing procedure for selecting the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Accusing the Government of trying to appoint a “pliable” officer in the post, the Left parties said the system of appointing CAG should be made transparent.
The present CAG Vinod Rai will complete his term by the end of May.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Left parties said the Centre was trying to appoint a senior telecom officer as the next CAG. CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta said the telecom official tried to run down the CAG’s report on the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
The Left parties alleged that the Centre was trying to politicise Constitutional offices such as the CAG. “If this happens, then the CAG’s wings will be clipped and corruption will be covered up,” he added.
Dasgupta had said that a collegium consisting of the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader should be created for selecting the CAG.
The Left parties have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against appointing the senior telecom officer as the CAG, said a source.
The Left leaders said a calling attention motion on the issue could not be taken up in Lok Sabha due to disruptions. The Government’s reply, which could not be tabled in the Lok Sabha, was circulated by the Left parties in the press conference.
jigeesh.am@thehindu.co.in