New Delhi: In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent focus on corruption within Opposition parties during his Independence Day address, the Congress has taken a counter approach by highlighting discrepancies highlighted in Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports. These reports have raised questions about Mr. Modi's apparent silence on the matters.

During a press conference held at the Congress headquarters, Supriya Shrinate, who oversees the party's social and digital platforms, enumerated seven instances where the CAG pointed out instances of cost overruns in public projects and misuse of public funds. "We strongly believe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi bears direct responsibility for these scandals, and he must be held accountable," emphasized Ms. Shrinate. She expressed the view that these issues should be thoroughly investigated and those responsible should be held answerable.

Taking the Bharatmala project as an example, the comprehensive scheme for constructing national highways, the Congress representative underscored issues such as escalated costs, flawed tender processes, and the absence of safety consultants. Ms. Shrinate further highlighted the case of the Dwarka Expressway on the Delhi-Gurugram border, where the construction cost surged from about ₹18 crore per kilometer to an astonishing ₹250 crore per kilometer for a mere two-kilometer stretch.

The spokesperson also pointed out a CAG audit that revealed erroneous collections totaling ₹132 crore from road users due to the non-implementation of revised toll fees at just five toll plazas. "This raises the question of the potential scale of this mismanagement across all toll plazas in the country," she commented.

In reference to the Ayushman Bharat flagship scheme, Ms. Shrinate brought to light the audit's discovery that 7.5 lakh beneficiaries were registered under a single mobile phone number. Moreover, insurance claims for fresh treatments were found to have been disbursed in the names of 88,670 deceased individuals.

Additional CAG reports highlighted by Ms. Shrinate detailed a flawed engine design that resulted in losses amounting to ₹159 crore for Hindustan Aeronautics  Limited, as well as irregularities in the Ayodhya Development project. She also discussed the diversion of pension funds under the Rural Development Ministry for the purpose of erecting hoardings as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Ms. Shrinate concluded by addressing the media's apparent reticence in response to these issues. "It is quite telling that despite the unearthing of not one, not two, but seven CAG-related scandals, the Prime Minister's silence continues to prevail," she noted.