WHAT the Government of India did when it appointed P.J. Thomas Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) is inexplicable. For that public office, the government, naturally, ought to have looked for a person whose record did not have even the slightest of ambiguities, and such persons are not difficult to find. There are several civil servants whose integrity is unquestionable. The myth that all bureaucrats are corrupt is not just that, a...
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Choice challenged by V Venkatesan
The appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner comes under Supreme Court scrutiny.ON November 8, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar asked the Attorney-General, G.E. Vahanvati, whether Central Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas was an “outstanding civil servant” as required by the Central Vigilance Commission Act.The Bench was yet to get a firm reply to the question on December...
More »Rangarajan panel grapples with survey methodology by Gargi Parsai
As to who should conduct the survey to identify the ‘priority' and ‘general' categories of households as recommended by the National Advisory Council (NAC) was an issue that the expert panel headed by chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, grappled with in its meeting here on Tuesday.The NAC has recommended that legal entitlements to subsidised foodgrains be extended to at least 75 per cent of the...
More »Differences remain over cash for grain by Liz Mathew
Differences between the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, and the government over the food security Bill have begun to narrow, but a suggestion by the agriculture ministry to offer cash to poor consumers in case sufficient foodgrain isn’t available remains a contentious issue.“We do not have any serious objections to the recommendations of the NAC. But the ministry wants to have the provision for...
More »Don't drag names until we decide Radia tapes,SC tells media
The Supreme Court today asked the media not not to drag the name of any person figuring in the controversial Niira Radia tapes until the case was decided by it as dignity of every individual was precious.It even warned journalists of being hauled up if the ''lakshman rekha'' is crossed.A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly while warning the media from crossing the "Lakshman lekha" chided...
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