Demanding that Central Vigilance Commissioner P. J. Thomas be sacked, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said he should not be provided with an “escape route” by allowing him to resign in the wake of observations made by the Supreme Court against him.
“He should be sacked. He should not be given an escape route by allowing him to resign,” BJP Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha S. S. Ahluwalia told reporters.
He was asked to comment on media reports that Mr. Thomas has been asked to resign.
“Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had given her dissent note but the Prime Minister and the Home Minister insisted on appointing him...he is named in the chargesheet as an accused in a 10—year—old case in Kerala,” he said.
He said that while government had claimed that Mr. Thomas was not an accused, a RTI reply revealed that his name is still in the chargesheet.
The Supreme Court had last week raised questions about Mr. Thomas’ controversial appointment as CVC despite his name figuring as an accused in a criminal case. His name figures in the chargesheet filed in a palmoleine export case.
Supreme Court’s question
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday virtually questioned the tenability of Chief Vigilance Commissioner P. J. Thomas supervising the CBI’s investigations into the 2G spectrum scandal as he himself was Telecom Secretary at the relevant point of time.
