Thomas refuses to step down as CVC

The government was caught in a bind with Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas refusing to quit from his post today.

The CVC reasoned that resigning at this stage would leave a taint on him which it would be impossible for him to wash off. The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) meanwhile put more pressure on the government alleging that it had lied before the Supreme Court on the appointment of the CVC. The Centre had told the court that it did not know about the corruption case against Thomas when he was appointed. The Centre is left red-faced with the Opposition alleging that it was mislead.

While an embarassed government was hoping that Thomas would would step down on his own, he has reportedly refused to do so. The government recognises that the CVC has been cleared by the state vigilance department and was ready to give him some other responsibility, if he would only resign. However, he reportedly told the government that his prosecution (by the state government) can go on, but if he stepped down it would not help his cause.

Now, the ‘helpless’ government is hoping that the Supreme Court will take suo motu action canceling Thomas’s appointment after examining the legalities of the case. The government could petition the President to tell the Supreme Court for his removal, but the step can be taken if the Centre can establish misconduct by him as the CVC.

Apart from the apex court’s observations asking the government to explain the procedure in Thomas’ appointment, what added to the level of discomfort were the claims by Sushma Swaraj that the government is lying. Swaraj had said she would file an affidavit before the court to put the record straight on her dissenting note over the CVC’s selection because of a corruption case.

Reports said the government wants to leave Thomas to fend for himslef before Swaraj files the affidavit because Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram would also become party to the legal case regarding the CVC – something that would be another major embarrassment for the government.

Thomas was selected as the CVC in September 2010 by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Chidambaram and Swaraj. Inspite of Swaraj’s dissenting note, the committee chose to go ahead with Thomas.

Swaraj had said she opposed the appointment of the IAS officer from Kerala, because he was named in the charge sheet in the palm oil imports scam in the 1990s.