Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will take the appropriate decision on the continuation of Jacob Thomas as Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), the government informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Replying to a point of order by Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Law Minister A.K. Balan denied reports that the CPI(M) State secretariat had directed the government to insist on Mr. Thomas’ continuation in the post. Mr. Balan, who was officiating for the Chief Minister, said media reports were baseless. “It is not the party, it is Ministers who take decisions on matters in their portfolios,” he said.
Earlier, raising the point of order, Mr. Chennithala said the CPI(M) was trying to make the VACB Director a party nominee. He said it was the Chief Minister and not the CPI(M) which had to decide on accepting Mr. Thomas’ move to step down. “How can the VACB Director be expected to be impartial in his role after securing party support for his continuation in the post?” he asked. The government was bound to reveal the reasons behind Mr. Thomas’ offer to quit. “There were rumours that he was forced to step down under pressure to derail the investigation against former Minister E.P. Jayarajan,” he said.
Accusing Mr. Chennithala of basing his point of order on newspaper reports, the Minister said the CPI(M) secretariat had not taken any decision on the matter.
