it?s hardly surprising that the choice of the new central vigilance commissioner has sparked a controversy. The choice of officers to head bodies like the CAG and the CVC is never smooth, but there were two problems with PJ Thomas? appointment. For one, the government constituted a panel that included the leader of the Opposition, and when she disagreed with the choice, the government still went ahead. Second, Thomas till recently headed the department that is under scrutiny for the biggest corruption scandals in the UPA?s regime; and the man Thomas will have to stand in judgement over was his boss for a year.
While the leader of the Opposition has cited charges against Thomas that are more than a decade old, the more interesting question is whether Thomas will, in keeping with the high tradition of fairness and objectivity, recuse himself from the 2G spectrum case against Raja or sit in judgement over his fate. When he became Trai chief, former TDSAT member JS Sarma recused himself from the cases dealt by him relating to the regulatory body.
More than the taint charge that is difficult to prove, Thomas? record in the DoT gives one a fair idea of whether, in the days to come, the CVC would be a dynamic body or a mere paper tiger.
Thomas took charge as DoT secretary in October last year and 20 days later the CBI raided the ministry?s office in relation to the 2G spectrum scam case. The other eventful development to have taken place during his tenure was the successful completion of the 3G spectrum auctions. In both cases, Thomas hardly had a role.
However, he got a major opportunity to turn around the fortunes of the sagging state-run telecom operator BSNL where his record was dismal. Thomas was one of the members of the Sam Pitroda committee that suggested measures to turn BSNL around and scrap its controversial 93-million line tender. Being a DoT secretary, Thomas could have played an active role in implementing the committee?s recommendations, which he did not. Even more curious, however, was his behaviour. Prior to the Pitroda committee, the board of BSNL had met to decide on the tender. While the board was in favour of the tender going through, two officials of Thomas? ministry were for scrapping the tender?that is, they had the same views as the Pitroda committee of which Thomas was a member. One of these officials was transferred out of the ministry and the other was sent a showcause notice asking how he gave a dissent note without consulting Thomas. It is an open secret that Thomas? boss, A Raja, was batting for the tender.
So whether Thomas chooses to recuse himself from the 2G case or not, don?t expect a pro-active CVC in the days ahead.