JOIN USGK Pillai UPA favourite choice for CVC post
The CVC post is left vacant after the Supreme Court declared the appointment of P J Thomas “non-existent” following objections raised by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in the wake of a chargesheet filed against him in the pamolein import case in Kerala.
Well-placed sources told Deccan Herald that Pillai who has served at the Centre and the state governments “with competence” may be tipped for the post unless the leader of opposition, who is one of the three members of the selection committee on the CVC, “expressing any reservations.”
Pillai’s candidature for the CVC is being backed by “a heavyweight cabinet minister” from the South, sources said.
The Kerala background of Pillai may also favour him to assume a post which was occupied by his predecessor Thomas, a 1973 Kerala cadre IAS officer.
The UPA-2 is eager to go pro-active in rebutting opposition charges of corruption and allegations of government lowering the prestige of institutions like CVC.
“The appointment of a civil servant with impeccable reputation would push the CVC controversy into the backburner,” sources said. A panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram and Sushama Swaraj as members is to take a final view from the three short- listed candidates by the Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances.
The Centre has received over 50 nominations from ministries, departments and individuals for the post of CVC. Politicos as well as bureaucrats and judges are in the race for the top post in the highest vigilance body that pursues cases of corruption in the Central and state government departments. Pillai, a Kerala-cadre IAS officer of the 1972 batch, was commerce secretary before he was appointed home secretary in June 2009. He has worked in the Home Ministry as joint secretary (north-east). The Kerala cadre officer is to retire on June 30.
The name of Pillai is also doing rounds for the post of Cabinet Secretary.