Driven up the wall by a belligerent Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the 2G spectrum scam and the removal of Central Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas, the United Progressive Alliance government appears to be seriously considering securing his resignation ahead of Monday's Supreme Court hearing on his controversial appointment.
This, Congress sources said, is in the hope that it will not only douse anger at the appointment of Mr. Thomas — whose name figures in the charge sheet relating to palmolein import when he was serving in the Kerala government — but also end the 16-day stalemate in Parliament. “Thomas appointment has become a liability for the Congress,” the sources said.
It was against this backdrop that the Congress Core Group met here on Friday evening. Its members include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony and P. Chidambaram, and political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel. M. Veerappa Moily — Law Minister and in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh which recently witnessed political turmoil and a change of guard — was a special invitee.
