"This is no way to deal with the issue. You go to the Supreme Court and tell the court that he will not inquire into... then what is the CVC for? He is the head of an institution, he is supposed to guide, supervise and monitor the probe and if he is going to do this (recuse himself) then what is he for? This is a way to bail him out from the present situation and to bail out the government from embarrassment," senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside Parliament House.
His comments come after the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning that Thomas has offered to recuse himself from supervising the case. Later, Thomas asserted that he would continue to be the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
Naidu said this (recusing himself) will not carry conviction with anybody and added "there is no other way other than the CVC resigning". The Supreme Court had on Tuesday questioned the tenability of P J Thomas supervising the CBI's probe into the 2G scandal as he himself was Telecom Secretary at the relevant point of time.
After volunteering not to monitor probe, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman said the appointment "itself was not on sound footing". CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said Thomas' offer to recuse himself from supervising the CBI in the 2G spectrum case was inadequate and insisted on his resignation.
"The court should once again provide evidence of his intention to cover up the scam. Firstly, appointing a person to the post of CVC knowing that he would have to look into the 2G scam... who was deeply involved in that scam or cover up of that scam is itself unethical", the left party leader told reporters here.
She demanded that the government should at least ensure that the concerned individual resigns and said, "It's a question of resignation, not recusing himself. Therefore, this is further evidence of the government's lack of ethics or morality in this case".
Asked if the CVC's offer to recuse himself was of any purpose and if the two matters (Thomas' alleged role in the matter while he was Telecom secretary and him being part of the probe into the case) were connected, Karat said, "It is deeply connected and that is why we are saying that to have a proper, impartial inquiry, JPC is the best method".
She said the government's willingness to order a JPC was "further evidence of a huge cover-up on the 2G spectrum scam". Questioning the appointment of Thomas for the top post, Karat said, "How can the government appoint such an individual... now, even the Supreme court has commented on him".
Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani said the Supreme Court has said enough which should make a responsible person resign. "Should he resign is a matter of the individual concerned. The Supreme Court has no power to make him resign. The court has said enough which should make a responsible person resign," he said.
Defending the government's stand in the Supreme Court, Congress said the matter should be left to the apex court to decide. "Since the matter is under consideration in the Supreme Court and if at all the government has put something in the affidavit, it must have considered all implications," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters.
Asked about his party's stand on whether Thomas should quit, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said, "I will not give any opinion as it will have to be decided collectively within the UPA. We are part of the UPA, so individual opinion will not matter. The issue is subjudice too."
Source: Agencies