Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday refuted the charge by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan that it was the Kerala Government that gave vigilance clearance for PJ Thomas,whose appointment as Central Vigilance Commissioner was recently struck down by the Apex Court. In a statement here,the Chief Minister said Chavan,former Union Minister of State for Personnel and Training,was lying on the matter. He said the state had apprised the Centre of the palmolein graft case in which Thomas was an accused,when the latter applied for deputation to central service. "Though the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had owned responsibility for the error of judgement,Chavan is now trying to blame the Kerala Government to hide his fault in recommending the name of Thomas for the CVC post," he said. The Prime Minister,in his speech in Parliament,had said that the Department of Personnel and Training,then under Prithviraj Chavan,was responsible for the lapse,Achuthanandan pointed out. Chavan had said on Tuesday that the vigilance clearance for Thomas was done by Kerala state. "Chavan should have kept the dignity of his post while making such statements," Achuthanandan said.
