Chavan defends himself on CVC fiasco

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told the state legislature on Tuesday that as the Union minister for state for personnel, he was not made aware of any negative report or pending criminal case against PJ Thomas before the latter’s appointment as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). “I wish to affirm that there was no attempt to mislead anyone. A judgement was made on the basis of the facts. The paper given to me did not have reference to any adverse vigilance status or pending case against Thomas. I, therefore, approved the file and the agenda of the meeting for selection of the CVC, which was circulated to members of the selection committee,” he said. Chavan came under attack after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent statement in Parliament accepted the appointment of Thomas as CVC was an error of judgement and blamed, in effect, Chavan’s then department for the fiasco, contending the key information was not provided. Maharashtra’s Opposition parties had demanded his resignation.