Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday slammed the CAG report on the Rafale deal as “useless”, saying the institution has allowed itself to become a “joke”. The report contains no useful information or conclusion and its motive is to hide the truth, the senior Congress leader said at AICC Press briefing.
He reiterated his party’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the deal, saying only it can call for all relevant records. The CAG is not God, he said, apparently rejecting the ruling BJP’s contention that the national auditor’s report should be the final word on the contentious issue.
Chidambaram cited a Defence Ministry letter to the auditor watchdog forcing it to redact the commercial aspect of the deal from the purview of the audit.
