The former central vigilance commissioner, PJ Thomas has remained tightlipped ever since the Supreme Court ruled his appointment as illegal. In this candid interview, Thomas's counsel, Wills Mathews, tells rediff.com that the President's order is unconstitutional and that the Supreme Court order itself was shocking, as it did not have the jurisdiction to pass such an order.
The government on Tuesday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party on the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner saying the party did nothing when it was in power on sanctioning prosecution against him, as they could find any evidence against him.
Sheela Bhatt analyses the implications of the Supreme Court's landmark verdict on Thursday, trashing the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner
The party has been objecting to Telecom Secretary Thomas' appointment, saying that the move was aimed at burying the ongoing probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the Rs 60,000 crore spectrum scam.
Even as the United Progressive Alliance government continues to be in a tizzy over the Central Vigilance C's appointment, sources say that PJ Thomas has refused to quit, primarily because he feels that he is an honest man and because as the central vigilance commissioner he enjoys immunity against prosecution, particularly in corruption cases.
Interestingly, the Congress party has also washed its hands off the entire episode saying the issue was between the government and the Supreme Court and it was for the law officers to make the position clear. "Where does the Congress come in the picture?" asked Janardhan Dwivedi who heads the AICC media department.
Even as the United Progressive Alliance government battles protests by Opposition BJP over the selection of Telecom Secretary PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner, it has now been stung by one of its allies, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is reportedly upset over the lack of courtesy extended by the government on the appointment.
Kerala Public Works minister P J Joseph resigned from the Left Democratic Front ministry and announced the decision of his party to leave the LDF to merge with the Kerala Congress (Mani).
The bench said the petition has relied on a March 2 verdict of the apex court which had ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity of election".
A controversy has broken out over the appointment of an additional director in the Central Bureau of Investigation after the government and the central vigilance commission locked horns over considering an officer whose track record was under question.
Marcus Smart had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who had a six-game winning streak come to a halt. Grant Williams added 17 points, and Derrick White had 15 points and eight assists. Boston was without Jayson Tatum (knee), Jaylen Brown (knee), Robert Williams III (knee) and Al Horford (personal).
Gandhi came along with Mukherjee and while the former president left after sometime, the Congress chief offered to drop him back but Mukherjee politely refused.
There was considerable disquiet in the Congress after Mukherjee accepted the invitation of the RSS to address its workers at its headquarters in Nagpur.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
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