MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, claimed on Sunday that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Report, which was just issued, exposed ‘seven scams’ by the federal government.
According to MK Stalin, who cited the report, the seven frauds are the Bharatmala project, the Dwarka fast transit project, the toll booth collection, the Ayushman Bharat programme, the development of Ayodhya, a project involving rural development, and the scheme for building aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Speaking at CPI politician M Selvaraj’s wedding in Thiruvarur, the Tamil Nadu chief minister alleged that ‘the CAG has claimed that all seven projects have corruption involved.’ He stated that the CAG, a branch of the central government, was the one who brought the corruption claims, and he added, ‘We are not saying this.’
‘The CAG prepares a report every year on the performance of the government, it studies the income and expenditure of the government and then submits a report. That is the work of CAG. Today, the CAG says there is a corrupt rule at the Centre with several irregularities in government-run schemes. We are not saying this,’ Stalin said.
Citing the CAG report, MK Stalin said, ‘In the Ayushman Bharat scheme, 7.5 lakh beneficiaries were linked to a fake phone number which is 99999 99999. Under the scheme, 88,760 patients have died, but even after their death, insurance money for their treatment was given. Rs 22.44 crore has been scammed by adding non-eligible families to the scheme. We are not saying this but the CAG report says so.’
Meanwhile, MK Stalin’s accusations were rejected as ‘baseless’ by Tamil Nadu BJP head K Annamalai. Stalin, he claimed, was simply ‘reading from a piece of paper’ that had been supplied to him, ‘without checking the facts.’
He asserted that the CAG audit found no evidence of corruption and that the cost of building roads increased. According to the CAG assessment, the Dwarka rapid transit project’s cost increase is the result of revisions made to the design, according to Annamalai.
The BJP leader also addressed MK Stalin, saying that the 2G scam, which was exposed by the same CAG, was still fresh in people’s minds.
Additionally, he questioned how corruption could exist at toll gates and responded with a Sunday incident involving a DMK official. The DMK official was seen on camera yelling at Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of the Chennai Greater City Corporation, for allowing art vendors at the Anna Nagar Tower Park and demanding Rs 2,000 from each stall.
‘Are DMK MLAs and Councillors involved in such collection tactics at toll gates just like how they demand money from the City Corporation Commissioner for conducting an event at a park that belongs to the Corporation?’ asked Annamalai.
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