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ICHR takes exception to 'violation of constitution'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 6. The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) authorities have taken strong exception to the violation of its constitution by the audit team of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) which "sidelined" the office of the Member-Secretary in favour of the Director (Research & Administration) who has since been suspended.

Up against an adverse audit report which holds the current administration to account for the "omissions and commissions of the Council" prior to his charge, the ICHR Chairman, M. G. S. Narayanan, wrote to the CAG and the Human Resource Development Ministry this week, objecting to the manner in which the audit for 2001-2002 was conducted and seeking remedial measures.

Prof. Narayanan is also learnt to have written a separate letter to the Union HRD Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, expressing angst over the turn of events. In particular, he has questioned how an official of the Ministry was allowed to correspond directly with the Director (R&A) when the Memorandum of Association of the Council clearly states that the Member-Secretary is the ICHR's executive head. Besides being violative of the constitution, this, the Chairman is said to have pointed out, also undermined the ICHR's autonomy.

While the ICHR has put up a detailed defence for all the objections raised by the audit team in its 20-page report, particular concern has been expressed about the violation of the constitution. Also, according to the Council, "their faulty understanding of the Council's constitution and their failure to have a discussion with the Member-Secretary have resulted in a serious and unfortunate distortion of perspective".

About the specific objections raised by the audit team, the ICHR's contention is that half of them pertain to the preceding decade. Council officials argued that if the Audit really intended to deal with the entire period from the establishment of the Council in 1972, due notice should have been given to the authorities for a Review Audit.

Given the nature of an audit reply, the ICHR authorities have sought to address each objection raised by the audit team clinically without delving into the politics that has been the bane of this institution in recent years.

Still, the audit reply does mention that complaints voiced publicly by a Council member and an employee have been reproduced in the report without enquiry or investigation.

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