Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan alleged here on Wednesday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was trying to hide his culpability in the appointment of P.J. Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner through his recent statements.
Mr. Chavan had offered the lame excuse that there was no indication in the file submitted to him that Mr. Thomas was an accused in the palmolein case. He had also repeated the allegation that the Kerala government had written to the Central government agreeing to the deputation of Mr. Thomas to the Centre. However, Mr. Chavan omitted the fact that the Kerala government had written to the Centre in the letter regarding the deputation that Mr. Thomas faced an inquiry in the palmolein case, the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Achuthanandan added that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself had admitted in Parliament that Mr. Chavan, who was then Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, had kept those letters away from him. Mr. Chavan, who was tainted in the matter, was now trying to put the blame on the Kerala government.
