True spirit of my CAG speech not reflected: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said media reports of his speech at the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conference did not accurately portray its spirit following criticism of his remarks that the official auditor should not "sensationalise" its findings.

"News reports of my speech at the CAG conference do not accurately reflect the spirit of my speech," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

Jaitley Wednesday had asked the CAG not to sensationalize its findings in order to get into headlines, which drew criticism from the Congress who asked why he had not voiced the view at the time the BJP, then in opposition, repeatedly stopped parliament functioning on the issue of the massive notional losses projected in the CAG reports on the 2G and coal allocation scams.

"Auditor should be conscious of the fact that he is reviewing a decision that has already been taken. Have the fair procedures been followed? He doesn't have to sensationalize. He doesn't have to get into the headlines," Jaitley said Wednesday.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh got back at Jaitley promptly on Twitter.

"CAG should not sensationalise its findings, - Arun Jaitley. Wish he had realised this when 2G and coal block CAG reports came!", posted the Congress general secretary.

Jaitley had also said that an auditor must be able to distinguish between a wrong decision and a corrupt one.

"Because let us also not forget when we live in a society, which by temperament, having learnt the hard way the last few years, have become an over suspicious society and therefore our job is not to convert the public opinion into a kind of a lynch mob," Jaitley said at the CAG annual conference.