Action on Centaur sale soon: FM

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government would indicate "as soon as possible" the action it proposed to take on the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's (CAG's) findings pointing to certain deficiencies in the disinvestment process followed in the sale of Centaur hotels of Air-India by the NDA government.

"We are considering the report and I will, as soon as possible, indicate what we will do," Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha.

The observation came in response to CPI(M) and Congress members demanding that they be informed about the action taken on the CAG findings, as the finance minister had assured the House, as early as August last year, that he would consider taking action after receiving the CAG report.

Chidambaram's response came a day after the Left parties gave an ultimatum that the government should institute a CBI probe into the disinvestment of Centaur hotels at Juhu and the Mumbai airport within 24 hours.

The CAG had said the previous disinvestment ministry, headed by Arun Shourie, had deviated from practice while disinvesting the Centaur hotels.

Shourie had said last week the report's observations dealt with technicalities and procedures and that it did not allege impropriety.

Raising the issue during zero hour in Lok Sabha, CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharya said as per the findings, "irregularities" had been committed in the disinvestment of hotels and demanded a CBI probe into it.

Acharya, along with party colleague Rup Chand Pal, said the finance minister, in his May 4 assurance, had stated that he would take action after receiving the CAG report.

Now that the report was out, the finance minister must spell out immediately the government's response, CPI(M) members said, adding, "we want specific assurances" from the minister on the issue.

"The deals should be cancelled and a CBI inquiry instituted," they said.

Dipankar Mukherjee of the CPI(M) said Shourie was "intimidating" the CAG with his comments.

"This is direct intimidation as well as tampering of evidence. Some affirmative action needed to be taken," he said wondering how many reports the government required to initiate action on the sale when the a parliamentary standing committee and the CAG had passed strictures.