Congress protest in Rajya Sabha over CAG report on Gujarat Petrocorp issue

NEW DELHI: The issue of CAG listing irregularities in Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's KG basin gas project again reverberated in Rajya Sabha today with a Congress member seeking government's reply on the issue.

Raising the issue at the start of the Question Hour, Jairam Ramesh said "it's one week since I have been asking this question every day. This is a matter of national importance" and sought an answer to the CAG findings of alleged regularities running into several thousand crores in the matter.

Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2005 had announced that GSPC had struck 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in its KG basin block. But recoverable reserves had proved to be one-tenth of that and GSPC's borrowings shot up to Rs 19,716.27 crore as of March 31, 2015, according to CAG report.

Congress had raised the issue in the Upper House on Monday as well.

The government had then said CAG reports are examined by Public Accounts Committees (PACs) of state assemblies and there was no convention to discuss those in Parliament.

It had also then alleged that Congress was trying to divert attention from AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Chairman Hamid Ansari, however, insisted that Question Hour should be allowed and wondered what is the point in "disrupting" the Question Hour.

As sloganeering continued, Ansari adjourned the House again for 15 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha was adjourned briefly towards the end of Zero Hour in the pre-noon session as Congress members raised slogans against the government and trooped into the Well.