It is a matter of regret that P.J. Thomas has chosen not to do the decent thing given the murky circumstances — put in his papers. The Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) may have got a breather with the Supreme Court posting to January 27, 2011 further hearing of a petition seeking his removal. But in previous hearings, the court asked deeply embarrassing questions about the appropriateness of his functioning as CVC, something that can be strongly contested on three separate grounds. First, there is the manner of his appointment. While he was selected by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Leader of the Opposition — as mandated by the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 — he was appointed by a majority, overruling the dissent recorded by Sushma Swaraj. Thus the very rationale for including the Leader of the Opposition in the selection process, which is evidently to arrive at a consensus in a non-partisan manner, was given short shrift. Secondly, what possible justification can there be to have a CVC, the country's highest administrative authority to inquire into corruption, with a charge sheet pending against him? True, the charge sheet in the palmolein import scandal goes back to 2000 and the lack of progress in the case has, perhaps unfairly, left his reputation in a limbo. But a failure in the criminal justice system, deplorable though it is, does not validate having someone accused in a criminal case functioning as the country's top anti-corruption watchdog. It also fails to satisfy the Supreme Court's requirement, in the landmark Vineet Narain case, that the CVC must be a person of “impeccable integrity.”
It would be unjust to make any presumption of Mr. Thomas' guilt. But his suitability for office stands demolished for a third reason — the ongoing CBI investigation into the 2G scam. While the licences for spectrum were issued before he took charge as Telecom Secretary, there are legitimate concerns about his failure strictly to enforce licence conditions, not to mention his strong defence of the allocation procedure. It is not enough for Mr. Thomas to have recused himself from the investigation into the award of the spectrum licences. As CVC, he exercises superintendence over the functioning of the CBI insofar as it relates to investigations of offences committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Given this, any CBI investigation into the 2G spectrum allocation will be in danger of seeming biased. The CVC's post is much too sensitive and important to be undermined by an appointment that should never have been made and an indefensible unwillingness to demit office.
Keywords: CVC, P.J. Thomas, political scandals, CVC Act 2003, 2G spectrum scam, CBI probe
It's the Supreme Court that has put the stay on palmolein import scandal, and now asking for 'impeccable integrity'. How can Thomas prove his integrity if the Court has put the case in abeyance ? This, in my opinion, is double standards from our judiciary.
It has been a common experience in the government machinery that an innocent person is chargesheeted for offences not committed by him/her. This situation was supposed to be for ordinary officers/officials. In these situations the person suffers unfairly. But in the present case the very credibility of the system is at stake. Irrespective of the result of the prosecution, the damage to the system is irreparable. It is utter callousness on the part of the top leadership in the government that has allowed this to happen. People has no more faith in Our judicial machinery and occurance of these types of situation will make people even more cynical. The least the PM can do in this case is to recall the CVC without further delay.
The Hindu Editorial rightly questioned the legitimacy of the appointment of Mr Thomas as CVC and equally reminded Mr Thomas to take moral high grounds to resign. Whatever may be the argument, Mr. Thomas not only has to clear his name from the Palmolein Scandal and also his association to cover-up 2G spectrum case. There are many honest IAS officers who should have been appointed to the Post of CVC until Mr Thomas clears his name. No one is indispensable. The UPA government lost its credibility by this appointment and it's action raises suspecion that it is deliberately trying to cover up many corrupt practices.
we are living in an era in which decentralization of corruption is happening.Recent incidents shows fourth estate also lost its credibilty and poeople are became hopless. Now its the turn of judiciary and common man living hazardous conditions
I congratulate ' The Hindu ' for an objective editorial for the sensitive position of CVC. In today's murkiest politics, 'Hindu' always provides an incisive and fair view.
It has become a fashion with our netas and babus to keep clinging to their posts even after credible doubts have been raised about their functioning. The rot starts from the head. How can we point fingers at the ministers and officers of the Government and yet not criticize the one who is supposed to be leading this corrupt Government? One who is supposed to be guiding this Government? How can we say that Dr.Manmohan Singh is clean when everything around him is unclean? Where are his values now? This is only an example of what is happening in this government.We all believe that Truth will triumph. Yes of course.But what about the meantime?With enormous power in their hands wouldn't these corrupt people make an attempt to derail the investigations in to their own wrongdoings? Wouldn't they amass wealth in the meantime?Wouldn't they help the corrupt get away with no questions?It is high time some mechanism is formulated to take care of these things, to prevent the corrupt from going on a spree.That is why our leaders resigned in the past whenever a finger was raised against them. Oh,the good old times!
Well written editorial that asks the CVC without mincing words to put in his papers without any further delay. The fact that despite knowing his background, the PM chose him ignoring the concerns and opposition of the Opp Leader in Parliament goes to prove that the PM has taken the country for granted and believes that with his perceived image of Mr.Clean his questionable acts will go unnoticed or unquestioned. It is time that Dr.Manmohan woke up to the fact that public at large has lost faith in his intergrity and honesty because of inaction in all major corrpution cases like 2G, CWG, CVC, etc.
your editorial has come at a right time.Yes Thomas must lay down his office immediately if he has any decency left in him and if he has any respect for the constitution and the morality that is behind the framing of pointed rules on the appointment of CVC. It is not an issue between two political parties but an issue that concerns the nation and clean image of public life. If he continues in office, men on the street will have no respect for any rules in force and will lead to anarchy in future.
After the recent news regarding the former CJI and his family members,I have grave doubts about the Supreme Court helping to root out corruption.
I am surprised to see the comments from other readers supporting Mr.Thomas and comparing with politicians. All political parties have corrupt politicians top to bottom. If Mr. Thomas as individual wants to save his reputation, he should resign and be a model citizen. Once he is cleared, he can approach the same court against those who tried to malign him. Mr Thomas can set an example and be a difference maker. I believe that opportunity is lost.
As a responsible citizen of India, I congratulate 'The Hindu' to put up this editorial. I am pained that India is heading towards disaster due to corruption. It has become a way of life from top to bottom. If the CVC itself is with a corrupted guy, where does India go? I had a great respect on Mr.Manmohan as honest person. But it seems he is either dishonest or does not have power to act on corruption. If is it so, he should step down and tell the truth to the nation. why he is holding on to it? As always, our president is a rubber stamp. Now, our only hope is that the Supreme Court.
I fully endorse the views expressed by Mr Sam . BJP can be renamed as BQP (Bhartiya Querulous Party ) They have to oppose everything the Govt does - and stall the parliament and create a scene as they have no issue to latch on to and they are mortally scared to face the Prime Mininter - as they cannot find a single person within the party to match his integrity and credibility. The only way to stop his success is to oppose everything the Govt does so that they could claim that the Govt has failed. The champions of honesty clenliness could only hide their tails under their legs when it came to Karnataka's CM. Their PM designate lied to the world in black and white which was exposed by their own party man. What else can they do. They think they are the law unto themselves, and have gone to the extent of Critising and the investigation on 2G Scams from 2001 ordered by the Honourable Supreme Court and think that BJP above the Honourable Supreme Court
The apprehensions or the objections by Smt.Sushma Swaraj,Opposition leader in the panel, naturally have not been taken into consideration while appointing the CVC, as is the demand by the opposition for JPC now thwarted by the ruling UPA.
Mr. Sunny Mathew commented: "Still, another important thing is, the UPA government should not have made him CVC when the opposition leader objected to it." In my opinion the government has rightly chosen to ignore the dissent raised by the opposition leader. The opposition, especially the BJP, going by their past actions don't inspire credibility. Let's consider their reaction to the past appointments: 1) President Pratibha Patil - the BJP launched a smear campaign against her, alleging charges of corruption. 2) CEC Mr. Navin Chawla - a smear campaign that he was biased and corrupt in favor of the Congress. 3) The current CVC - another smear campaign accusing him of corruption. I do not know if any of these people are innocent or guilty, but consider the BJP's approach to them - an orchestrated media campaign intending to smear their reputation in the eye of the public. That's all they do - they don't seek to make sure that an investigation is done, or seek ways to make sure that if they are guilty, they be punished. The reason is simple - they no there is no viable case, sometimes even for a chargesheet! And yet, even an eminent lawyer like Mr. Jaitley, who does know better, has no problem casting doubt on the reputation of these people. If you do know that the opposition is anyway going to create a ruckus, and are not really serious in discharging their duty, why should one listen to them? Since the day the UPA - 2 government was sworn in, every major parliament session has been disrupted by the opposition, especially the BJP. They have made it a habit. It is really disturbing that 'politics' for them means sitting in air conditioned studios in front of a camera. If they want to be taken seriously, shouldn't they ACT like mature politicians!?
I don't find any reason why Mr. Thomas should quit. Till when he, or for that reason any citizen, is not proved guilty by a court of law, he can occupy any office. If simply because of an allegation or charge sheet, people should be barred from high offices, then who can govern this country? To thwart the growth of a particular person, is it enough to file a suit against him? Indeed,that is what many of the parties do when they come in power.If the supreme court is very much concerned about the justice system, then it should first speed up the proceedings in the Palmoil case and decide whether Mr. Thomas is culpable or not. Instead of that, the court itself considers him almost as guilty. If Mr. Thomas is proved to be innocent, can the court make up for all his losses? If our justice system drags a case for decades, who else is responsible other than the courts? Still, another important thing is, the UPA government should not have made him CVC when the opposition leader objected to it. That is common sense.
L. K. Advani had no problem in continuing to be a member of parliament despite being charge-sheeted. The Bihar assembly has 40+ criminals, most of them representing the BJP / JD(U), with criminal cases pending / on-going against them. The chief minister of the BJP led government in Karnataka has refused to resign, and initiated "judicial probes" on the allegations against him. I am not defending Mr. Thomas, the current CVC, but I can't help wonder why there should be a different standard for government employees and politicians! Are only politicians "innocent until proven guilty"?
The appointment of Thomas as CVC itself is questionable and so his continuance in the post in the light of the observations of the Supreme Court is doubly unfortunate.Is the Central government so powerless as not to remove him from the post?
There is no doubt, CVC should go. But, the fact remains, he has not lobbied for the post as reported. It is the government which has appointed him to the coveted constitutional post, over ruling the dissent of the Leader of the Opposition. Why is it that the media is not finding fault with the government for not taking action to impeach him ?
The editorial correctly highlights the reluctance on the part of some of the most senior dignitaries to vacate their office in the face of grave charges of corruption and wrongdoing pending against them. We have earlier witnessed the same unwillingness on the part of two judges of the High Court, one from Karnataka and another from Kolkata, to vacate their office even when credible proof about their involvement in different cases of corruption exists. The fact that these office bearers have chosen not to step down even when the Supreme Court has itself, and that too repeatedly, raised question mark over their continuance in office shows the scant regard they have for the apex body and by extension to the law of the land. Politicians in India have always been known to abuse power. That they will never be effectively held accountable and will bluster their way through is taken as par for the course by the Indian public. However when people belonging to institutions that have survived the test of time and still hold faith in the eyes of the public indulge in such practices, it not only undermines the credibility of the respective institution but also gives rise to a very disturbing trend, a trend that others will be tempted to emulate. The need of the hour is for the government to step in at the earliest and pressurize the CVC into resigning from his post so that the tendency to cling to office in the face of criticism from every quarter can be stemmed and an example can be set for others to follow.
Though I agree with the second part of the editorial that his hands may not be very clean in the 2G scam by defending the allocations, I definitely don't agree with the first part where the law has been reversed. The law says 'innocent unless proven guilty' but media trial is making it go the other way i.e. 'guilty unless proven innocent'. This propaganda of the media of trying anybody and everybody outside the court should stop and a newspaper as responsible and esteemed as THE HINDU should not engage itself in such an irresponsible. Instead The Hindu should be unbiased and it should bring out the truth to the public domain thereby upholding the duties entrusted upon this esteemed newspaper.
I hasten to comment first on the title of the editorial. The punctuation mark after doubting is an intriguing intervention. If Mr. P.J.Thomas has read the three separate grounds you marshalled in the well argued composition to contest his continuance as CVC, he would have morphed into "a sadder and a wiser man." And even now it is not too late for him to resort to that "decent thing" - demit his office.
Mr. Thomas have titillated my knowledge on abbreviation CVC ,is it Chief Vigilance Commissioner or Congress Vigilance Commissioner? He seems to be appointed by the committee in which opposition leader seems to be a mute spectator ,to safeguard the interests of corruption within the government. With so much of hue and cry within and outside the court Mr. Thomas still enjoys the power of being CVC. The modality and probity of the position has been lost. As it took 11 months for the Prime Minister to act against Mr. Raja, Tainted Telecoms Minister , so can the Countryman be told that if Mr. Thomas doesn't succumb to the jurisdiction of morality and probity than by when can he suspended or dismissed . The Country needs an honest and person with "impeccable integrity" to guide the country to corruption free atmosphere not a person who himself is being questioned about his actions. Time to act else it will react.
t is interesting to note that whenever Mr. Thomas was in peril or precarious position or for more power, the IAS Assn of Kerala comes forward to protect or elevate him and be quick in passing judgments on his 'impeccable' capacity as evident at the time when there was doubts about his coronation as the Chief Secy of Kerala which he left for big CVC like post at Delhi. The editorial is simply superb reflecting the right vision and principle, a rare thing seen in incredible India.
Even though the charges have not been proved yet, there is no reason why Mr. Thomas should not step down from the post.
Why did the Prime Minister and the Home Minister decide to appoint Mr.P.J.Thomas as CVC when they knew that there was a criminal case pending against him and that he was also the Secretary of the Telecom Ministry? They have much to answer for. Yet the media, even while trying to occupy a moral high ground, will not ask them for an explanation. Strange indeed! No former Indian government ever had such a friendly media. The fourth estate is letting the people of this country down.
Having correctly concluded that this appointment 'should never have been made' why not take the small extra step of demanding that our honourable Prime Minister and honourable Home Minister explain what compelled them to make this appointment? As one of your columnists pointed out- the fish rots from the head.
It appears (evident) the politicians cannot find an honest persons in India to appoint to important positions as if they do, it backfires on them. But how the PM approved the appointment of current CVC. It smells. It either shows that he cannot make a judgement of his own and influenced by his appointing authority (as he quoted many a times). He took the Indian public for granted. Regarding JPC demand, it is the govt. which is wasting money by not able to agree for a JPC, as it is scared that skeletons will tumble from cupboards.
Very well said The Hindu. Congrates. BY appointing Thomas as the CVC the Congress govt has got a person to save their face and Thomas has got the best opportunity to come clean from the charges he is already facing.In the circumstances neither the Congress will bring forward a resolution to dismiss him nor will he volunteer to resign. Unfortunately the President is a rubberstamp as usual like her predicessors. It is regrettable that no Seshans are there to be bold enough to do the right thing. Only hope to the people of India now the Supreme court. Let us wait good things will happen soon .S.Meenakshisundaram,Coimbatore.
The adamant clinging on to a high profile post by Mr. Thomas is yet another example of a disturbing development in our system which has earlier manifested itself through Justice Sukumar Sen and Justice Dinakaran.
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