Congress’ Jairam Ramesh accuses Modi govt of corruption ahead of PM's I-Day speech, seeks answer to CAG findings

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi on the eve of Independence Day, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh Sunday said “the Prime Minister will unleash his torrent of lies from the ramparts of the Red Fort for one last time, taking off from his tsunami of lies to the nation in the Parliament last week," reported ANI. The Congress General Secretary said, “Will he have the courage to question his own government and his ministers on their corruption and incompetence?" Accusing Modi Government of corruption and incompetence, the Congress General Secretary said, “Even a defanged Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has been able to expose the sheer corruption and incompetence of Modi Government." Demanding answer from the prime minister Jairam Ramesh said Chuppi Todiye, Pradhan Mantri-ji! Highlighting the findings of the CAG, Jairam Ramesh in a letter said the CAG has flagged an overall cost overrun of more than 100% in the much-hyped Bharatmala Pariyojana.

This project was approved and monitored by none other than the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) that is chaired by the Prime Minister himself. Ramesh said, “The sanctioned cost of the 26,316 km of highways that have been awarded was ₹8,46,588 crore, as against the CCEA-approved length of 34.800 km at a cost of ₹5,35.000 crore.

This means that these projects were awarded at a cost of ₹32.17 crore/km, more than double the cost of Rs15-37 crore/km approved by the CCEA. Despite multiple cost overruns, only 13,499 Km of national highways have been completed till 31 March 2023, less than 30% of the CCEA-approved length." The Congress General Secretary further said, “The CAG has also raised concerns about the inflated project cost of the Dwarka Expressway, which went up 14