Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes “full responsibility” of the “error of judgment” in the appointment of P.J. Thomas as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Singh on Monday said on the floor of the Lok Sabha that he “accepts and respects” the Supreme Court (SC ) decision on removal of CVC.
Left parties, however, staged a walkout and demanded to know how it all happened.
PJ Thomas
In his suo motu statement Dr Singh acknowledge that he “accepts and respects” honorable SC decisions and would consider its directives, besides the sequence of events of appointment of Thomas and the sacking order of the apex court.
He, however, did not mention anything about ‘responsibility’ and this created furor in the opposition bench.
When leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj dissented, Dr Singh reiterated, “I have no hesitation in repeating what I said in Jammu. Obviously, there was an error of judgment. I accept full responsibility for it.”
Two public interest litigation (PIL) petitions were filed in the apex court after Thomas’ appointment as the CVC. The court finally quashed the appointment on March 3, making Thomas the first CVC to be sacked.
