RAS question
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) submits audit reports on Rajasthan's accounts to the:
Correct answer: (C) Governor.
Under Article 151(2), the Comptroller and Auditor General of India submits reports on Rajasthan's accounts to the Governor, who causes them to be laid before the State Legislature.
Explanation
Article 151 separates Union and State audit reporting. For the Union, CAG reports relating to the accounts of the Union go to the President and are then laid before Parliament. For a State, Article 151(2) directs that reports relating to State accounts are submitted to the Governor of that State, and the Governor causes them to be laid before the State Legislature. In Rajasthan's case, the constitutional route is therefore CAG to Governor to State Legislature. The Speaker is associated only when the report is tabled in the Assembly, while the President's role belongs to Union accounts. The Chief Minister is not named as the recipient in this reporting chain.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Speaker is not the constitutional recipient under Article 151(2); the report reaches the Legislature only after the Governor causes it to be laid there.
- (B) The President receives CAG reports on Union accounts under Article 151(1), not reports relating to the accounts of a State such as Rajasthan.
- (D) The Chief Minister is outside Article 151(2)'s audit-reporting chain, which names the Governor as the recipient and the State Legislature as the body before which the report is laid.
Concept
This tests constitutional accountability in State finances, especially the Article 151 route for CAG audit reports. It recurs in RAS because similar questions distinguish Union-level offices from State-level constitutional procedures.