Sharad Pawar Demands Probe After CAG Pulls Up Fadnavis Govt Over Utilisation Certificates Worth Rs 65,000 Crore

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar has demanded a probe after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the State’s finances for 2017-2018 indicated that the then Devendra Fadnavis government failed to submit utilisation certificates (UC) for funds amounting to Rs 65,921.35 crore. The report indicated the lack of proper monitoring by the department of the use of grants.

Pawar also slammed the NDA government on Saturday, saying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens were “ploys to divert” attention from serious issues plaguing the country.

“CAA and NRC are ploys to divert people’s attention from serious issues that the country is facing,” he told reporters here.

“Not just minorities, but those who care for the country’s unity and progress are opposing CAA and NRC. The new citizenship law will disturb and hurt religious and social unity and harmony of the country,” he said.

He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Eight states, including Bihar, ruled by an NDA ally, have refused to implement the law and Maharashtra should also take a similar stand, Pawar said in response to a query.

“The CAA may be a central act, but the implementation will be done by the state agencies. But do the states have resources and machinery to do so,” he asked.

The former Union minister also sought an SIT probe, headed by a retired judge, into Pune police’s action against activists in the Elgar Parishad case.

With PTI Inputs