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BJP on the back foot : Centaur sale comes back to haunt on the NDA |
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The NDA and especially its leading light, the BJP, were put on the defensive last week when the Comptroller and Auditor General, in his report slammed the Disinvestment Ministry under Arun Shourie for undervaluation and sale of the two Centaur hotels in Mumbai. The report said that established procedures were violated when the sale of the two hotels was finalised on the basis of single beds. The rules were relaxed for the benefit of the sole bidder.
In the report released on Friday, May 6, CAG also faulted the then NDA government for unauthorised use of over Rs. 63 crores to fund its pre-poll “India Shining” advertising campaign. It said that Rs. 68 crores were diverted from the sub-head “Cooperation with other countries” to a sub-head “Other expenditure”.
The NDA Government has also drawn flak for the delay in acquisition of demining equipment, putting soldiers at risk during the 2002 border standoff with Pakistan. These adverse comments came at a time when NDA is caught in a confrontation with the UPA government. The observations on NDA’s privatisation programme might turn out to be politically most damaging for the BJP-led combine, encouraging the Left to go all out against Shourie and company. CPI(M) on Friday was quick to demand a CBI probe into the selloffs, saying it was an “open-and-shut case.” Government and NDA are locked in a confrontation over the disinvestment programme which saw Finance Minister P. Chidambaram faulting Shourie. The Finance Minister may cite the CAG report as an endorsement of his case.
No mandate for Ambassador-at-Large
The CAG also pulled up the then NDA government for creating the post of Ambassador-at-Large at New York and opening an office there without assigning any mandate. According to the CAG report, this led to an avoidable expenditure of about Rs. 16 crores. The Vajpayee government had appointed Bhishma Kumar Agnihotri, associated with the RSS, as Ambassador-at-Large. He was removed from the post immediately after the Manmohan Singh government assumed office last year. Agnihotri was not accredited by the US government as a foreign diplomat as it did not recognise the rank of adviser or Ambassador-at-Large. Moreover, the Bush government could not approve a green card holder as an Indian diplomat.
Shourie calls for an open probe into Centaur deal
Former Disinvestment Minister and BJP leader Arun Shourie has urged the Manmohan Singh Government to hold an open inquiry into the charges made in the CAG report regarding the disinvestment of the Centaur hotels. Speaking at a news conference in New Delhi Shourie said that he is willing to face any inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Central Vigilance Commission or any other agency. He denied that he influenced public sector banks to lend money to Ajit Kerkar of Tulip International to help him come up with Rs. 153 crores after he had won the bid for the Juhu Centaur hotel in Mumbai. It was sold when Shourie was minister in the Vajpayee Government. However, he admitted that he had a meeting with bankers, potential lenders to Tulip, to see the deal through. While avoiding any explanation for the valuation of the property being brought down from Rs. 246 crores to Rs. 101.60 crores fixed as the reserve price when bids were invited, Shourie said the adviser’s report on valuation should be made public. He justified the difference in the valuation figures, saying that it the case of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, the share price today was lower than what the Tatas paid when they bought the controlling stake in 2002. “These are all commercial decisions”.
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