New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said that he accepted responsibility for the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and that he respected the Supreme Court's judgement invalidating Thomas' appointment."I respect the judgment of the Supreme Court... I accept responsibility," Dr Singh said. He was fielding questions from reporters in Jammu.
The PM would, however, comment no further on the matter than saying that he should speak in Parliament first. Asked if and when he would make a statement in Parliament the PM said, "I have not made up my mind... I think the issues that you have raised very important issues, and we should ensure such incidents don't happen in the future."
Opposition parties have targeted the PM and his government for picking Thomas as CVC despite his having been named in a case of corruption almost 20 years ago when he was the Food Secretary in Kerala.
Thomas' name was cleared by a three-member committee headed by the PM that had on it Home Minister P Chidambaram and BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. The committee insisted on Thomas even though Sushma Swaraj argued that the criminal case of corruption against him should have ruled him out.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled, in a case filed against Thomas' appointment, that the appointment was illegal.
The BJP has now demanded a debate on the controversy in Parliament.
