Moves afoot to table privilege motion against CAG

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Moves are afoot to take theCongress'' battle against the CAG on the 2G scam report to anew level with party MPs planning to table a privilege motionagainst the constitutional functionary.

"We are seriously examining whether a case ofprivilege can be made out against the CAG or not," sources inparty said, a day after it unleashed an attack on thegovernment auditor.

The party had yesterday taken a very serious note ofthe CAG''s press release on Wednesday and wondered whetherthere was any rule in Parliament procedures prohibiting MPsfrom commenting on matters lying before a ParliamentaryCommittee.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity a senior partyleader today said,"this (CAG''s release) is breach of theprivileges of an MP rather than the MPs reaction on CAG reportbeing a contempt of Parliament."

The leader also recalled that JD-U MP Jainarain Nishadhad also moved a privilege motion against the CAG and alsosome media organizations during the Winter session protestingthe leaks of the report before it was tabled in Parliament.

But the motion was rejected by Speaker Meira Kumar as it wasfound that leak of a document was not a privilege issue.

Asked about Opposition''s attack on Congress on"undermining" Constitutional bodies like CAG, the leader shotback saying "why those, who are now claiming to be thegreatest defendants of CAG, did not ask then why Nishad fileda privilege motion against CAG."

The party leader also strongly justified Sibal''scriticism of CAG findings and said "we should have done itearlier and we were late by two months in doing it."

At the AICC press briefig party yesterday, partyspokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan had taken strong exception tothe CAG release counselling restraint on the part of MPs whilecommenting on its 2G spectrum report on the ground that itcould be "improper" and could amount to contempt ofParliament..

"We are somewhat surprised and a little distressedbecause this seems to contain a suggestion that MPs do nothave a right to speak on any issues when CAG report is beingexamined by a Parliamentary committtee....it was a very strongsuggestion, she said.

Natarajan had also questioned how the CAG report gotleaked to media well before it was tabled in Parliament. PTIAMR