The abrupt transfer of three officers responsible for the CAG audit of projects that exposed corruption in the Ayushman Bharat scheme and road construction has prompted the Congress to allege a “mafia-style” operation by the Narendra Modi government.

News portal The Wire reported on Wednesday that two of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) officers who were transferred were in charge of the audit reports that exposed corruption in the Dwarka Expressway project and Ayushman Bharat. A third officer who had initiated the audit of the Ayushman Bharat report was also transferred.

The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) reports used to be a lethal weapon in the hands of Opposition parties in the past — the Manmohan Singh government was painted black because of the “presumptive loss” of Rs 1.76 lakh crore that then CAG Vinod Rai had estimated. The Congress has accused the Modi government of putting curbs on the CAG since 2014, while the tabling of reports in Parliament invariably gets delayed. Even the media does not discuss the reports like before.

Reacting to the report on the transfers, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh issued a statement saying: “The Modi government operates mafia style under a cloak of silence and intimidation. If anyone exposes its modus operandi of corruption, they are threatened or removed. The latest victims are three officers of the CAG, who exposed massive scams in government schemes in a report tabled during the monsoon session of Parliament.”

Ramesh added: “The CAG report showed scams across infrastructure and social schemes. It documented 1400% cost inflation and tendering irregularities in the Dwarka Expressway, in addition to a diversion of Rs 3,600 crore from highways projects, faulty bidding practices, and 60% cost inflation of the Bharatmala scheme. Not only that, an audit of the Ayushman Bharat scheme showed lakhs of claims made to dead patients and at least 7.5 lakh beneficiaries linked to a single mobile number.”

While surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari has firmly rejected the CAG findings, the Congress has made the Ayushman Bharat scam a major issue in Madhya Pradesh where money was allegedly siphoned off on the pretext of treating patients who had died. The CAG is at present headed by Girish Chandra Murmu, an officer known for his personal rapport with Modi.

Ramesh said: “Now, the three CAG officers in charge of reporting on the Ayushman Bharat and Dwarka Expressway scams have been transferred to hide the blatant corruption in the Modi government, despite the fact that the CAG is supposed to be an independent body. We demand that these transfer orders should be cancelled immediately, the officers return to the CAG and action must be taken on these mega scams relating to Dwarka Expressway, Bharatmala and Ayushman Bharat.”

The AAP also reacted, saying: “Officers exposing corruption are transferred even as Modi says ‘na khaunga, na khane dunga’. It was found that 7.5 lakh beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme had one phone number.... Modiji, if you have the courage, order investigations into these scams instead of transferring out officers.”

According to The Wire report, through order 1901 of the CAG office dated September 12, Atoorva Sinha, who was the principal director of audit, infrastructure (PDA, infrastructure), New Delhi, has been transferred and posted as accountant-general (A&E), Thiruvananthapuram, in place of Sunil Raj Somarajan. Sinha had been assigned the PDA, infrastructure post in March 2023. Sinha was in charge of the CAG report on highway projects under the Implementation of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I (BPP-1) that found instances of irregularities.

According to order 1902 of the CAG office, also dated September 12, Dattaprasad Suryakant Shirsat Director (AMG II), director-general of audit, central expenditure, New Delhi, “has been transferred and posted as director (legal) in this office against an existing vacancy”. Shirsat was in charge of the performance audit of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

The order also states that Ashok Sinha, director-general (North Central Region), has been transferred as director-general Rajbhasha. He will hold the additional charge of the post of director-general (exam) in the CAG office “till further orders”. Sinha had initiated the performance audit of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana — Union Government (Civil) National Health Authority Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The transfer and posting orders involving a total of 37 officers have not been posted online.