THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the indecision of the government over Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas’ request to relieve him from the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) continued, Mr Thomas on Thursday slightly retracted from his earlier stand of being firm on his decision to leave the post. Since Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was unwell, no formal decision on the matter was taken till Thursday evening, according to the Chief Minister’s Office. Parliamentary affairs minister A.K. Balan said in the Assembly on Thursday that the government was yet to take a decision on relieving Mr Jacob Thomas. He also denied reports that the matter was discussed at the CPM Secretariat on Wednesday.
“It is an administrative matter to be decided by government only,” he said in reply to a submission of Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. Mr Chennithala alleged in the House that that the vigilance chief will be hereafter obliged to the CPM for the decision to retain him and would act as per the party’s wishes. “The parrot is now flying in AKG Centre premises,” he quipped. Meanwhile, giving indications of a U-Turn from his stand an Wednesday that there would be no rethinking on his decision to move out of Vigilance, Mr Thomas told a section of media on Thursday that he had presented his stand before the people’s government and it is for the government to take a call.
“If you people did not push me back, I will go ahead,” he said in a lighter note to the mediapersons in front of him. Mr Thomas, who went on a field inspection in the coastal areas of Anchuthengu as part of a probe on Thursday, said that he was going ahead with his duties and was bound to look into the petitions being received by the vigilance. Though there were allegations that it was a tactical move on the part of Mr Thomas to offer to move out of the vigilance, he refused to comment on it.
