Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Nirupam today claimed that former CAG Vinod Rai has tendered an unconditional apology to him in a defamation case. The case was filed by Nirupam against Rai over the latter’s claim made during a 2014 interview that he was pressured by Nirupam and other MPs to keep former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh out of the 2G spectrum report.

“Finally former CAG Vinod Rai tendered an unconditional apology to me in a defamation case filed by me in MM Court, Patiala house, New Delhi today. He must apologize to the nation now for all his forged reports about 2G and Coal block allocations done by the UPA Government,” said Nirupam while sharing the photos of the affidavit filed by Rai in the court.

In his affidavit, Rai said, “…I have realised that, in answer to questions posed to me by the interviewers, I had inadvertently and wrongly mentioned the name of Shri Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs, who pressurised me to keep the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s name out of the CAG report on 2-G Spectrum allocating during the meetings in the PAC or the sidelines of the JPC etc.”

Rai claimed that the statements made by him were ‘factually incorrect’.

Sanjay Nirupam also issued a video message over Rai’s apology. “I want to say one thing about 2G spectrum allocation and coal block allocation that the report prepared by him (Vinod Rai) was baseless. In the 2G case, after 7 years of hearing, the judge said that the CBI did not submit any proof of the alleged scam. It means that report was fabricated. The coal block allocation report was also fake. Rai should also seek apology for those reports,” said Nirupam.

It may be recalled that Rai had written a book ‘The Diary of the Nation’s Conscience Keeper’ and during certain interviews with different media platforms with regards to his book, Rai had made the above claims.