The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Lokpal Bill will meet in New Delhi on September 7 to decide its procedure to fast track the comprehensive exercise for formulating a strong legislation. It will kick off its work by hearing Central Bureau of Investigation director A P Singh and Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar who have been sent notices to appear before it.
A day after Londoners were confronted with a 'sick and depraved' attack, crowds gathered in the heart of the city to pay tribute to the victims. Candles flickered on downturned faces as people paid tribute to those who had been killed and injured. The words "solidarity" and "unity" could be heard being exchanged in conversation after conversation.
The assertion comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directing the SBI to submit the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC.
Irked by delay in response to queries raised by it, the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) may summon officials of Union and State governments in connection with alleged financial irregularities in different Commonwealth Games related projects.
Cancellation of 2G licenses by the Supreme Court clearly revealed a big scam and it was a "collective failure" of the government which "overlooked" warnings given by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Central Vigilance Commissioner on the issue, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy said on Thursday. "Everyone had warned, including the CAG and the CVC, but the government overlooked it," Swamy said soon after the Supreme Court cancelled the 122 spectrum licenses.
Reacting sharply to Narendra Modi's barbs on the government over the coal controversy, Congress on Tuesday sought to turn the table on the Gujarat chief minister by reminding him of the graft allegations made against his government recently.
The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the judgement of the Supreme Court of India quashing the appointment Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas. BJP spokeperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said that in view of the order of the honourable Supreme Court, 'the time has come for Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to introspect.'
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on petitions challenging the appointment of former bureaucrat P J Thomas, who is facing a corruption case in a Kerala court, as Central Vigilance Commissioner.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday cornered the government for 'defending' Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas in the Supreme Court, asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi as to what was the 'compulsion' to defend the 'tainted' official and attack the upright comptroller and auditor general.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday slammed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre for defending the appointment of P J Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
The Centre on Monday strongly defended the appointment of controversial bureaucrat P J Thomas as the central vigilance commissioner, saying he was an 'outstanding officer' with 'impeccable integrity'. In an affidavit in the Supreme Court cleared by Attorney General G E Vahanvati, the government also said there was no need for 'consensus' of the three-member high powered committee on CVC's appointment.
The Lokpal Bill is set to be put on the fast-track with the Parliamentary panel on Law taking it for examination from Friday by hearing views of Aruna Roy and Jaiprakash Narayan who have presented their own drafts.
An angry Banerjee slammed a minister, a former Trinamool Congress mayor and a few bureaucrats for their "below-par performance".
"The CVC is a very important Constitutional position and naturally the position should be held by a person who is absolutely above board. The government is seized of the matter and will deal accordingly," senior NCP leader and Union minister Praful Patel told reporters.
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas on Tuesday withdrew from the Delhi high court his plea for direction to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to decide his representation against the Supreme Court order sacking him. During the hearing, the counsel for Thomas tried to clarify the position saying he did not want to challenge the Supreme Court order before the high court.
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar was on Saturday unanimously chosen the next chief vigilance commissioner, four months after the Supreme Court had quashed the appointment of P J Thomas to the post.
Four months after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of P J Thomas, a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday finalised the name for the post of chief vigilance commissioner.
Senior Indian Administrative Service officer P J Thomas was on Tuesday sworn in as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner amid a boycott by main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been objecting to his appointment to the post in view of his alleged tainted background.
Aggrieved by being referred as "tainted" and being listed in the category of "men who shamed India" by the media, former Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas has approached the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged distortion in the reporting of his case.
The blame game over the Central Vigilance Commissioner appointment fiasco refused to die down with the surfacing of a letter on Thursday that the Kerala government wrote to the Centre in 2006 saying it wanted to go ahead with the graft case against P J Thomas.
Refusing to let Prime Minister Manmohan Singh off the hook over the appointment of P J Thomas as the central vigilance commissioner, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday asked Dr Singh if he would fix the responsibility for the error."Since the prime minister has very graciously accepted the error of judgment, would he now appreciate that responsibility and accountability co-exist? Does the prime minister now intend to fix accountability within the government," he asked.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday virtually blamed former Minister of State (personnel) Prithviraj Chavan for the fiasco involving appointment of P J Thomas as central vigilance commissioner, saying the note forwarded by him for the selection committee did not have information about corruption case against Thomas.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday termed as 'error of judgement' the appointment of P J Thomas as Chief Vigilance Commissioner and told the Lok Sabha that he accepted 'full responsibility' for it.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Saturday sought to downplay the divergent views expressed by her and the party after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh owned responsibility for the central vigilance commissioner fiasco, saying there was "no difference" of opinion and blamed limitations of words in twitter for it.
A demand for a statement from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling quashing the appointment of central vigilance commissioner, disrupted proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Immediately after the Question Hour, Left members as also the Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav raised the matter vociferously, leading to adjournment of the House for 45 minutes.
Contradicting Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas's counsel Wills Mathews said that Thomas has not resigned from his post. "It is incorrect. Thomas has not resigned."Citing the provisions in the CVC Act, Mathews said he can be removed only by the President or alternatively he can resign.
The Left Front on Thursday said the Supreme Court's quashing of the appointment of P J Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner was 'another serious blow' to the UPA government which is facing major corruption cases. "I think what the court said today only vindicates the position our party has taken at the outset. Now the government, which is facing major corruption charges, has to answer why they have been taking such decisions," said CPM leader Sitaram Yechury.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said he respected the Supreme Court verdict on the quashing of the appointment of P J Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
Dealing a big blow to the United Progressive Alliance government, the Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the appointment of P J Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner. The apex court held that the recommendation made by the high-powered panel -- headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- did not consider the relevant material and therefore its advice "does not exist in law".
Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas resigned from his post on Thursday following the Supreme Court verdict which quashed the appointment of the former bureaucrat.
Sources said government headhunters Public Enterprise Selection Board had on September 29 last year, named Butola as its most preferred choice to head the nation's largest oil firm.
Embattled CVC P J Thomas told the Supreme Court that his appointment as Central Vigilance Commissioner cannot be subject to judicial review and that it does not not get vitiated merely because of chargesheet pending against him in a corruption case.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday accused Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj of making thoughtless allegations and "tying herself in knots" by levelling the charge that he had misled the panel which selected P V Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
The selection committee meeting to chose Central Vigilance Commissioner in September last year did discuss the issue of Palmolein case against P J Thomas, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday but parried a question whether a "chargesheeted" person should have been appointed.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Friday supported his colleague Sushma Swaraj's stand against the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas, saying he could not have been chosen for the post as he had cases pending against him. "This controversy started even when I was the Leader of the Opposition," he said.
Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas may quit the post in the wake of stinging observations from the Supreme Court on his capacity to supervise the CBI probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday virtually questioned the tenability of Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas supervising the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe into the 2G spectrum scandal as he himself was Telecom Seceratary at the relevant point of time.
2G Scam: SC ticks off CBI for not questioning Raja
The government placed the file relating to the appointment of P J Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner in the Supreme Court, which questioned as to how he would function in the post in view of a pending criminal case against him.
Corruption is all-pervasive in Indian society and it's a surprise that the Union law minster does not see it that way, writes Mahesh Vijapurkar.
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