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".
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.
The government on Thursday faced yet another day of searching questions in the Supreme Court over vigilance clearance given to P J Thomas, maintaining that the Central Vigilance Commissioner cannot be the final authority in giving final clearance to an official facing corruption case. The court also said it would lay down guidelines for future appointment to the post of the CVC.
The government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that once a bureaucrat is given a vigilance nod for appointment as secretary, no further clearance is required for empanelment for appointment as the central vigilance commissioner. "Once a person is appointed as secretary on clearance by the CVC, he can be considered for empanelment and no further inquiry is required," Attorney General G E Vahanvati submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia.
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.
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.
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 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.
Former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary and Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma were on Monday appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner and Chief Information Commissioner, posts which have remained vacant for over nine months on which the government drew some flak.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the new guidelines for the appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner, following which the government on Wednesday set the ball rolling for choosing a head of the top anti-corruption watchdog after the removal of controversial P J Thomas.The action came a month after the quashing of the appointment of Thomas as CVC by the Supreme Court as he is facing a corruption case.
Senior most Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma is tipped to be new Chief Information Commissioner, while former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary is understood to be in the running for the Central Vigilance Commissioner's post.
Former central vigilance commissioner P J Thomas has decided to move the Supreme Court seeking review by a Constitution bench of its March 3 judgment quashing his appointment, claiming that judiciary has no right to decide his eligibility for the post without prior reference from the President.
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.
"I respect the judgment of the Supreme Court and I accept my responsibility," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responded on Friday, a day after the apex court struck down the controversial appointment of P J Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
P J Thomas, secretary in the Ministry of Telecommunications, is all set to be appointed as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister P Chidambaram will meet on Monday to decide who will become the next central vigilance commissioner. According to the Supreme Court's instructions, the PM, home minister and the leader of Opposition has to finalise the CVC together. On Thursday, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan held an informal meeting with BJP leader Sushma Swaraj.
Defending his appointment as central vigilance commissioner, P J Thomas on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that there was no sanction to prosecute him in the Palmolein import case. In an affidavit, submitted to the apex court, Thomas said that his name was considered for empanelment for the post after the Central Vigilance Commission had given a clearance for it. He also said he was the senior-most bureaucrat to be considered for the CVC's job.
Embattled Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas on Monday side-stepped questions about him continuing in office in the wake of a corruption case against him, saying he was still the CVC. "I am still the CVC. The matter is in court. So no comments," said Thomas. The Supreme Court is hearing a PIL by the NGO Centre for Public Interest represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, questioning the legality of the CVC's appointment by a three-member selection committee.
Slamming the government, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj termed as "untruth" its claim that the charges against Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas was not brought before the high-powered selection committee of which she was a member and said she would approach the Supreme Court in this regard.
The government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the issue of a chargesheet against Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas in a corruption case and the sanction granted by the Kerala government for his prosecution were not brought before the high-powered committee for selecting a candidate for the post.This was stated by Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati before a bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia.
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.
A vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday posted to January 25 the trial in the Palmolein import graft case, in which former chief minister and Congress stalwart late K Karunakaran and Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas figure in the list of accused. When the case came up on Wednesday, the public prosecutor informed the court that first accused K Karunakaran was no more and he would file a report in this regard soon.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh if he was aware of the cases against P J Thomas before the collegium appointed him as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.The BJP sought to know from the government why documents related to the charge-sheet in the Palmolein case in Kerala and those related to Thomas' efforts at 'covering up' the 2G spectrum allocation were not brought to the notice of the appointing collegium.
Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas is likely to step down from the post ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on Monday over his controversial appointment. Sources said that it was only a question of time before he sends his resignation -- may be as early as Saturday -- to President Pratibha Patil, who was his appointing authority.
As P J Thomas maintained that he has not resigned from the post of central vigilance commissioner, the government on Friday said he no more holds the Constitutional post whether he quits or not. "Where is the question of resigning? There is no need. The Supreme Court itself said it. So there is no question. He cannot continue," said Law Minister M Veerappa Moily. He said at the most, the government would issue a notification saying the post of CVC was vacant.
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.
The Bhartiya Janata Party lashed out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday over the selection of Telecom Secretary P J Thomas as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner. The Opposition party claimed that the Centre had appointed Thomas to scuttle the ongoing probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the Rs 60,000 crore spectrum scam. The BJP urged President Pratibha Patil to cancel the appointment of Thomas, who will be administered the oath of office by her.
Demanding an inquiry into the purchase of 111 new aircraft by national carrier Air India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said the proposal was the root cause of the airline's financial woes.
"If Swaraj files her affidavit before the court and exposes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, they would be stripped before the court," Vittal said.
Controversial Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas on Monday told the Supreme Court that the corruption charges levelled against him to question his appointment as CVC was a fall out of a political battle in Kerala and that he was a person of "high integrity". He also contended that there was no violation of any norms in his appointment as the CVC and that he had no role in the controversial allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008.
Beleaguered Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas on Thursday got the backing of one of his predecessors N Vittal, who said there is no need for him to resign.
Controversial Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas is likely to continue at least till January 27, the date fixed by the Supreme Court for hearing a plea seeking his removal from the key post, sources in Congress said. The ruling party also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party for trying to give its 'own verdict' on the CVC issue even before the apex court could decide the matter."The BJP can say anything. BJP wants an interim action," said a Cong leader.
The apex court also issued notice to the government on the petition challenging the appointment of Thomas as the CVC on the ground that he is facing corruption charges.
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