HAD Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas been a politician, he has every reason to resign immediately in the wake of repeated remarks from the Supreme Court of India doubting whether he would be able to objectively oversee the investigations into 2G scams, given that he himself was a telecom secretary. But Thomas is a mere bureaucrat, and if the 1973 batch Kerala cadre retired IAS resigns under pressure, he would go down in the history of Indian bureaucracy as a corrupt officer who was shown the door during 2G spectrum scam.
But unlike former telecom minister A Raja or Ashok Chavan who had to resign as Maharashtra chief minister in the wake of Adarsh Housing scam, Thomas would not get a chance to go to public and give his point of view. After all, he is not fighting any election. So, while Raja and Chavan would win political battles and come back as MPs or ministers, Thomas would continue to carry a baggage.
Fellow bureaucrats in corridor say that he should have anticipated such a crisis and probably should not have taken up the CVC job at all. But he must not resign even if he is asked by the ruling party to do so. They feel, if he resigns at this juncture, he would be a political scapegoat. For the record, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj who was a part of the selection panel opposed his candidature because of his linkage to a long-pending Kerala palmolein import scandal. He was also a secretary in the ministry of telecom, but he joined the ministry after the 2G spectrums were already issued. (Read: Know the bureaucrat who signed 2G spectrum licence files). But he is not accused of being a beneficiary of the scam.
Thomas himself came out in public on Thursday to say that he is morally clear and his conscience is very clear.
Kerala IAS officers on Thursday issued a statement saying that Thomas was a person of “impeccable integrity” and expressed concern over the “smear campaign” against him. So here are the questions that are being posed in corridors of power. Should Thomas resign? Or if he resigns, will he always be dubbed as a corrupt bureaucrat? Will he get a chance to go to the people and explain his position? And what’s if he does not resign? There are more questions than answers at this juncture.
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If you are a retired bureaucrat looking for a post-retirement placement in a Delhi officer, here it is. Just log on to www.jobcorridor.com and spot the post dated December 3, 2010. Job Corridor will give you a perspective of where to look for right opportunities in India's corridors of power.
The Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas episode throws ample light on the callous attitude of Union Government in the appointment to the highest offices of Ombudsman in the country. A decision on one way or other should have been taken by the DOPT on the edible oil case concerning Thomas languishing with them for last more than 10 years before taking a decision on his appointment. Definitely, the covert Dossier containing intelligence input on work and conduct of PJ Thomas would have touched upon the pending case. This inaction on the part of DOPT has caused immense embarrassment to the government and easy fodder to the opposite parties in this fluid and volatile situation.
ReplyDeleteNo purpose and reprieve would be served by passing resolution by IAS Officers Association of Kerala. CVC may like to resign to uphold to the fake edifice of honesty and impartiality of the o/o CVC. The officers and junior functionaries in CVC also fix cases by taking small and big bribes.
It would seem that Thomas aided and abetted corruption . At the very least he was compliant and did not raise any objection (re Elec Bd and Vijayan)If the Association thinks this is alright it clearly indicates a moral vacuum there.One wonders whether this resolution was passed by a rump or with an overwhelming majority. In any event the Assn seems to have peculiar notions of about integrity. An interesting tradition indeed Incidentally the senior officers who push such cases do not come smelling of roses
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