New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday accepted his responsibility for appointing PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) in Rajya Sabha - a day after doing so in the Lok Sabha. But the focus of the storm over PJ Thomas' appointment now seems to be shifting to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
Singh told the Rajya Sabha that he was not aware of a charge sheet against Thomas till the meeting of selection committee on September 3 last year and that he gave his approval as he believed vigilance clearance would have been obtained as Thomas had earlier served as Kerala Chief Secretary and Secretary in the Central government.
"The honest answer is that the note which was prepared by the DoPT ... did not contain this information about charge sheet. Since the gentleman was appointed Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala and that he was appointed as Secretary to two departments of the Government of India, I thought vigilance matters must have been looked into and therefore we went ahead with the selection process," Dr Singh said.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) was then headed by Mr Chavan.
As soon as the PM made the statement, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, raised questions like who chose Thomas?
"Who was responsible for preparing the shortlist? Why was a person who had a chargesheet preferred over others who had a clean record?" Jaitley said.
The PM then said he is both responsible and accountable. "I take full responsibility, I'm accountable," the PM said.
The Opposition was quick to pick up on the PM's statements, and questioned the appointment of Mr Chavan as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
"If the Personnel Department is responsible, PM should decide how can the then minister, be a Chief Minister," questioned Brinda Karat, Politburo Member, CPM.
Mr Chavan sought to pass the buck to the CPM-led Left Front government in Kerala.
"DoPT had suggested three names -- two retired officers and one serving -- for the post. One of them was Chief Secretary in a state to be brought to Delhi. Vigilance clearance is done by the state," Chavan said.
On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement, Chavan said "what the Prime Minister has said is correct. He himself doesn't go and see. Whatever biodata were placed before him by the department, he decided on its basis. He chose one of the names recommended by the DoPT. That's a fact," he said.
So, will the matter end with this political back and forth? Sources have told NDTV, that the Prime Minister does want further action, and this could include senior bureaucrats.
PJ Thomas was a senior bureaucrat in Kerala in the early 90s, when he allegedly pushed the government to allow the import of edible oil or palmolein. The deal ended up costing the government crores. Mr Thomas was charged with corruption in a criminal case, but because of the political sensitivities of those named with him, the case progressed in fits and starts, depending on which government was in power in Kerala. Mr Thomas enjoyed a series of promotions which saw him being deputed to the Centre.