By IANS,
New Delhi: Cornered by the opposition for the controversial appointment of ex-bureaucrat P.J. Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said he was “not aware of any irregularity” but took “full responsibility” and was “accountable” for the decision.
“As in charge of department of personnel and training (DoPT), I accept responsibility and I am accountable,” the prime minister said in the Rajya Sabha while responding to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Left members’ charges on fixing accountability for appointing Thomas.
“…Was I aware of the charge sheet against Shri Thomas, the honest answer is that the notes which were prepared by the department and these notes are prepared under the guidance of the minister of state in charge of the DoPT, that note did not contain this information,” he said.
“I did became aware of this case only when the honourable leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha (Sushma Swaraj) raised this issue in the meeting itself and this is where I find that since Thomas had been appointed chief secretary of the government of Kerala, secretary of the government of India, all legitimate vigilance handles must have been completed and that’s why we went ahead with the selection process,” the prime minister said.
“As far as the responsibility for the preparation of that came, it came through normal channels and it came with the approval of the minister of state, department of personal and training… I was not aware of any irregularity and that too of corruption,” he added.
Earlier, the prime minister reading out from a written statement reiterated that “there has been an error of judgement on our part” in the selection of Thomas, whose appointment was last week stuck down by the Supreme Court.
“There has been an error of judgement on our part. I accept the full responsibility.”
Appointed in September 2010 as the CVC by a majority decision by a three-member selection panel, Thomas, a Kerala-cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, had been charge-sheeted in a corruption case in the import of palm oil in the 1990s when he was serving in Kerala.
The court said the appointment made by a high-powered committee, consisting of prime minister, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha does not exist in law. Sushma Swaraj had recorded her dissent to the appointment.