Lok Sabha defers discussion on Satyam scam

The Lok Sabha on Friday deferred a discussion on the Rs 7,000-crore Satyam scam, following a request from Leader of the Opposition LK Advani. The Lok Sabha was supposed to discuss the steps to be taken to help the crisis-hit IT company. A new date for discussion was not decided on Friday.

Earlier, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta had asserted in the lower house that Satyam fraud is an aberration and the Indian corporate sector is mature and responsible. He assured that an inquiry in the Satyam case is going on and people responsible for the fraud would be punished. He said efforts are on to make the company function normally. The government's first priority is to restore normal functioning and take care of 53,000 employees of the Hyderabad-based IT firm.

Gupta apprised the members of the Lok Sabha that various investigative agencies are working in a coordinated manner in association with the state authorities and agencies.

Several government agencies including the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), market regulator SEBI, and the Andhra Pradesh police CB-CID are investigating the case following the disclosure of alleged fudging of accounts by the disgraced founder-chairman of the IT company B Ramalinga Raju.

He also informed that a foolproof electronic auditing system has been established to scrutinise the corporate accounts in the country. All companies are required to make statutory disclosures on this online electronic registry. Legal action is taken against such companies that do not comply with the requirement, informed Gupta.