Tainted Thomas – Egg on the faces of the PM and PC

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/717924/

Efforts on to get CVC P J Thomas to quit on his own
Anandita Singh Mankotia

New Delhi :   Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas, the former Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, is likely to be the next casualty of the 2G spectrum scandal.

Efforts are on at the highest level of the government to make him voluntarily resign to save the government further embarrassment on the issue. Thomas is said to have met Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was part of the three-member committee that selected Thomas while BJP’s Sushma Swaraj rejected his appointment.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court’s strong observations that a chargesheeted official doesn’t qualify as an outstanding civil servant.

Thomas was appointed CVC this September after spending a year in the DoT. Thomas’s role at the DoT came under heavy criticism for a variety of reasons.

One, he did not take any action against officials who allowed 85 firms to get licences even though they did not qualify (this was exposed by the CAG). Two, Thomas did not levy penalties on firms who did not fulfil their rollout obligations, or recommend that their licences be cancelled — the CAG had to do this.

Thomas also wrote to the CAG saying it had no locus standi when it came to examining what he called “policy issues” — that is, issuing of the licences at bargain-basement prices.

Thomas could not be contacted despite repeated calls.

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