New Delhi, Aug 01: Taking strong exception to the Congress criticism of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s observation of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), BJP today said this was "baseless and motivated criticism." "We advise congress spokesman S Jaipal Reddy and Buta Singh to go through the Prime Minister`s speech carefully. While underscoring the importance of accountability, all that the Prime Minister has emphasised is that the relationship between the executive and CAG should be such that the decision making responsibility of senior government officers and executives of PSUs is not impaired," party spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters here.


He said that Reddy`s allegation was that the Prime Minister was trying to subvert and interfere with the functioning of the office of CAG but there was nothing in Vajpayee`s speech to support this "ludicrous charge". "We take strong exception to these remarks by the Congress leaders," Malhotra said.

Bureau Report