CPM MP Su Venkatesan urges President Droupadi Murmu to intervene in CAG tender to private CA firms

CHENNAI: CPM’s Madurai MP Su Venkatesan has written to President Droupadi Murmu urging immediate intervention in a move by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to engage private Chartered Accountant (CA) firms for auditing public sector and local bodies.

In a letter dated June 3, Venkatesan described the tender issued by the CAG as a serious dilution of the constitutional mandate entrusted to the institution.

The tender, dated May 27, invites CA firms empanelled with the CAG to express willingness to conduct audits of autonomous institutions, local bodies, and other entities for the period July 2025 to March 2027.

“The audit conducted by Chartered Accountants is not the same as that conducted by the CAG. The officers of the CAG department possess specialised expertise in auditing these institutions,” Venkatesan stated in the letter.

Calling the move “highly dangerous”, the MP said it undermines the independence of the CAG, which was envisioned by the Constitution as an institution accountable solely to Parliament. He expressed concern that sensitive and confidential financial information could be exposed to private interests.

“The Constitution, as drafted by Dr. BR Ambedkar, granted the CAG independent status to ensure that the audit work is carried out without political interference. For the CAG himself/herself to invite private parties goes against the principles of the Constitution,” he noted.

Venkatesan also raised the matter on social media platform X, saying, “Floating a tender for this audit, involving thousands of crores of rupees, to private Chartered Accountant firms amounts to a violation of the duty entrusted by the Constitution to the CAG.”

The tender document specifies that only CA firms with a minimum point score of 15, as per the CAG’s empanelment for auditing public sector undertakings, are eligible to apply. The last date for submission is June 5.