Bureaucrats like P.J. Thomas must be punished (Caesar’s Salad, Mar 14). Without the help of those who know the rules and how to bend them, politicians would not be able to loot public money.

Charan Dewry, Guwahati

Leave P.J. Thomas alone. He has only been charged with an offence and the trial has not begun. Concentrate instead on our PM, who has been tried and found wanting.

Bonita, Chennai

To admit, as the prime minister has done, that an incomplete file relating to the appointment of the cvc was placed before a high-powered committee is to admit that his office needs a thorough cleansing.

S.Y. Savur, Bangalore

Our PM doesn’t seem to have lost yet his sheepish bureaucratic style of accepting blame to protect his political masters.

Dr Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao, Vijayawada

It’s beyond anyone’s comprehension how the prime minister could have endorsed P.J. Thomas’s appointment, particularly when there was disagreement within a committee he himself was heading.

K.J. John, Baroda

Manmohan Singh has proved himself to be the Dhritarashtra of Kalyug, turning a blind eye to all those around him who loot the public exchequer.

Mrutyunjayan, Hyderabad

Caesar’s wife, it seems, has been on Brutus’s side all along.

Varun Garde, Bangalore

There’s no point in blaming our prime minister, for, as a nation, we lost our sense of shame a long time ago.

R. Vinjamuri, Visakhapatnam

This tainted ias officer from Kerala needs to explain how he obtained cvc clearance for his previous promotions as chief secretary and telecom secretary, posts that were the take-off point for his appointment as CVC.

Jasbir, New Delhi

The PM should admit that his hands are bound not by “coalition dharma” but by a particularly powerful political family.

Bharat Trivedi, Ahmedabad

No proof is required now to show that the government was wrong in appointing P.J. Thomas as cvc. Governments should be wise enough to know that the cvc isn’t a fire-fighter to be appointed in a rush. The heavens won’t fall if an apt candidate is not found immediately.

A.A. Bhimaiah, Arasikere

 If its only one scam the opposition controls the ruling party. If there are far too many the ruling party controls the opposition. Already the voices of communists and BJP have become muted- tired perhaps.

Manmohan Singh is verily Kaliyug's Dhritarashtra. Just as the king allowed his son to indulge in all sorts of misdeeds, MMS allows Sonia and her coterie to indulge in the rape and pillage of India's resources.

It saddens me (and I hope millions of Indians) to see that the PM and his government and the steel (should that read 'steal' aka Arvind Joshi and wife) bungle and cannot resign.

Every file that goes before the PM has everything on any appointee/candidate and therefore to admit that an incomplete file was placed before the HPC is to admit that the PMO and the DoPT needs a complete cleansing - TKA Nair and Secretary downwards.

Shri Chavan's defence that Kerala Govt cleared Thomas for Chief Secretary does not absolve him of the malafide in not checking Thomas' file before it was put before the HPC. Unless it was meant to embarrass the PM.

As for India's PM's personal honesty, at least he admitted under pressure that he was responsible but integrity - ensuring honesty of others - is sadly lacking. Else we wouldn't be witnessing the Supreme Court rapping the Govt so often that it is embarrassing for every Indian to spout the Singhvism to pointed questions.   

Lucky us.. even after each scam releases like a bollywood movie.. with hefty numbers. CWG, Adarsh, 2G.. there is no learning curve for Congress.. and it comes out with another blockbuster in CVC Appointment.. even BJP and Communists would have got tired by protesting each scam.. and confused on which scam to hold on and protest.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi says “everything that is legally wrong is not morally wrong”. Nitin Gadkari said (talking abut Yeddyurappa) that he may have been morally wrong but was not legally wrong.

How nice it is to be a politician and come out smelling of roses (or pretending to) no matter what s**t you are in. Trouble is the public smells the stench.

Manmohan Singh never wanted to be a forced politician or a plausible Prime Minister. When he was called in for the position, he was requested to access the chair till the political head feels it's safe and clean for the dynasty to continue.

What Honorable PM has been doing is just guarding the chair for one - the ONLY ONE. Expecting political tantrums and techniques from a scholar is an inglorious act. Dr. MMS is ready to step down from the deteroriated, bug-bitten chair anytime. However, he's not been allowed to do so due to various affectionate assassinating request.

When a public servant age limit ---- who just serves common man at public offices ---- is 60, it's really a blood-clotting arrest to see 60+, 70+, 80+ people (who are supposed to sit in an easy chair in the balcony, sip a cup of coffee, and read 24-hours old printed news as a daily) thinking about: strategic initiatives (when they can't differentiate "a" and "6") , defense budget (when they can't even bend to their bottom), soft superpower dreams ( when they're the softest phase in their life), economic development (when they can go no where to earn a penny), infrastructure development (when they can'd ride bicycle by themselves), poverty eradication (when they can't eat a full meal a day), satellitte programs (when they can't differentiate a twinkle star from a tangent light on the sky), FDI (when they can't count a bunch of bills).....

What an irony life is!

"Toothless lions are talking about tooth pastes."

 The Caesar's wife, it finally appears, has been on the side of Brutus all along.

the ex cvc is dishing out humbug. he says that no clearance was sought from him. but will he please explain how thomas was given cvc clearance for his previous promotions as telecom secretary and chief secretary? the earlier clearances formed the platform for this post.

The fact is that all CVC,s of late have been rewrded with this post after they cooperated in some wrong doing in their earlier stints. The last non contoversial cvc was vijayshekharan and after that it has  been a rewards for favours post.it has become juicy post now due to cvc being on the selection committee for CBI chief. as an organisation it was recommendary body and a posting in cvc was not too well

UPA-I was pathetic as well, but the issues were lost in the "aam aadmi" support for the back-handed bribery called NREGA and largely due to negative, fear-mongering camapign of BJP. Now, they have run out of money for another NREGA and BJP has mellowed as well.

For the UPA-II, it is extremely urgent that MMS is replaced by a more competent and assertive person. Pranab Mukherjee or Chidambaram can be possible choices. The PMO needs an overhaul too. The mumbling indecisiveness of the current PM has resulted in a complete stand-still in governence and decision-making.

China took advantage of the recession and commodity melt-down to more than triple its reserves of natural resources and gold. It has been spending crazy on infrastructure and defence uplift. And, here we have a prime minister who shamelessly gives sermons on how India is headed to be a Global Superpower. The leaders of other countries are being extremely polite when they smilingly nod at such assertions. No country with empty bellies ever became a superpower. 

 ""Why did the government go out of its way to appoint such a controversial individual to such a critical constitutional post? "

Apparently it is because of the PMO. However I think it is because of bad instructions given by a traffic police in Bombay. He is the primary suspect. The second one is a cook from raj Bhavan in Madras.

"Why did the government go out of its way to appoint such a controversial individual to such a critical constitutional post? "

A valid uneasy question. MMS cannot claim to be ignorant about this specially after Swaraj raised objection.

"There are no clear answers although there are suggestions that this was linked to the can of worms opening up in the 2G spectrum."

The aswer is actually pretty clear, but still it is something special coming from Saba. It looks like UPA is losing its supporters. Thankfully a resident congressi is still there to loyally defend the indefensible.

We have lost our sense of shame long ago.It is futile to blame Manmohan Singh.

Caesar’s wife would have banged her head against the coffin walls while listening to the Indian Prime Minister! It is beyond any body’s comprehension how he could have endorsed Thomas’s appointment particularly when there was disagreement within the committee that he himself was heading. Even a hypothetical argument that he was misled does not hold good as he preferred not to say so on an issue that had already started  flaring up. Has he ever thought about the cost to the taxpayer and the nation in running the whole "thamasha" both within and outside the Parliament for so long?. For the same reason, the people of this nation have a right to know the name of the villain if it is not the so called "coalition dharma". Certainly the PM owes it to the people of this nation.

Two decades ago India initiated economic reforms. The results are uneven but largely positive. High GDP growth helped millions of Indians improve their living standards although the burgeoning middle class and the upper class got the lion's share of the prosperity. Even the Indian private sector enterprises went through major reforms as a result, creating a large number of public companies with strong economic fundamentals. All these changes helped to shape modern India.

However, what has not changed in the last six decades was India's governance. The corrupt neta -babu nexus and an incomeptent government machinery continued to remain unchanged even after several pay commission recommended pay hikes. There were proposals for making changes in the governance framewaork. But the reports are gathering dust. The erring politicians and babus thanks to a tardy legal system have never been punished although sensational media induced trials grabbed headlines and people's attention for brief periods of time. Irrespective of party affiliations corruption continues to thrive among the political class while the government machinery starting from the babus downward have continued to make money by misusing their power and positions. However, because of larger size of the Indian economy, successuve scams reported in the media only increase in their sizes.  

Unless there is any big push to start a governance reform and there is commitment from larger section of politicians across party lines to take concrete steps against the culprits nothing will change. Even if the politicians are pressurized to enact laws like RTI aimed at adding more transparency to the governance process, politicians will always make attempts to amend and water down such laws , while the bureaucrats will be doing their best to find loopholes for not implementing them.

Judicial activism and greater involvement of the civil society to mobilize opinion are the only options. Image of the PM is irrelevant. Even Rajiv Gandhi used to be called "Mr. Clean" when he joined the murky Indian politics.

Two decades ago India initiated economic reforms. The results are uneven but largely positive. High GDP growth helped millions of Indians improve their living standards although the burgeoning middle class and the upper class got the lion's share of the prosperity. Even the Indian private sector enterprises went through major reforms as a result, creating a large number of public companies with strong economic fundamentals. All these changes helped to shape modern India.

However, what has not changed in the last six decades was India's governance. The corrupt neta -babu nexus and an incomeptent government machinery continued to remain unchanged even after several pay commission recommended pay hikes. There were proposals for making changes in the governance framewaork. But the reports are gathering dust. The erring politicians and babus thanks to a tardy legal system have never been punished although sensational media induced trials grabbed headlines and people's attention for brief periods of time. Irrespective of party affiliations corruption continues to thrive among the political class while the government machinery starting from the babus downward have continued to make money by misusing their power and positions. However, because of larger size of the Indian economy, successuve scams reported in the media only increase in their sizes.  

Unless there is any big push to start a governance reform and there is commitment from larger section of politicians across party lines to take concrete steps against the culprits nothing will change. Even if the politicians are pressurized to enact laws like RTI aimed at adding more transparency to the governance process, politicians will always make attempts to amend and water down such laws , while the bureaucrats will be doing their best to find loopholes for not implementing them.

Judicial activism and greater involvement of the civil society to mobilize opinion are the only options. Image of the PM is irrelevant. Even Rajiv Gandhi used to be called "Mr. Clean" when he joined the murky Indian politics.

"Certain items in his resume were weighed differently by members of the appointing committeee."

ha ha... ANwaar, you are qualified to be a sub for Bharkha and Vir. (are you already, in outlook ?)

"we also need to watch the Supreme Court's tendency to expand its powers and encroach on the powers of the executive."

Amusing.. really. Who was it who said Hypocrisy is a serious business and not an occasional syndrome, it needs great practice and its followers knows no shame (like the communists and their lefties) ?

 " And if we believe the buck stops with the PM, then the going is likely to become particularly tough for Manmohan"

But the thing is Manmohan SIngh does NOT believe the buck stops with him-unless he is totally cornered and has no escape route. Till then he always tries to brazen it out. 

CVC issue, by itself does not warrant a resignation from PM. But the trouble is that is not an isolated incident. Integrity Singh has established a pattern. Remember his defense of Raja? He appoints a GoM to fight corruption and includes Alagiri in that GoM. Why not form a GoM to fight terror and include Dawood? In S-band, he appoints a guy to review the entire deal-the same guy who formed the deal in the first place!!!!!! 

What happened in CVC is pretty obvious. The then telecom secretary Thomas knew more about Spectrum than anyone else. So he was appointed in the hope that as CVC, he would be helpful in nixing the case. The CAG report and the SC's active interest in the case derailed Singh's plan and by that time, he was so committed to Thomas that he could not back off. He tried to braze it out but ended with egg in his face.

>>>Leave Thomas alone<<<

It is GOVT BABUS like Thomas who should be punished most for corruption because without their "active support" it is impossible for the politicians to indulge in LOOT. Maximum that can happen to Govt BABUs for not supporting LOOT is a transfer but if the newly posted BABU also refuse to support LOOT the transfer as a weapon loses its value. More importantly, the BABUS enjoy unparalleled job security- can any of us throw out even a "police constable, cleark or even peon" but we Indians have repeatedly thrown out even the most powerful politicians- from Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Vajpayee, VP Singh and have the power to show the door to MMS and Sonia Gandhi.  

Vote for Congress if you wanna make India shine like Amethi... :)

I hail from UP and have the privilege of having some relatives in Amethi and visited the fort of Gandhis many a times. Amethi till date is one of the most backward nondescrit villages of UP and boasts of the worst infrastructure you can imagine forget industries.

When I ask my relatives why they vote for Gandhis here is there quote as is (you need to know a little avadhi/hindi to understand this)....

"Arrey Bahuria(sonia) sakhshat devi laagey devi, bitiya(priyanka) aur maa(sonia) dauno dhoodh jaisan bilkul safaid(white) key safaid dhari hain, aur Rahul babua to mano Rajkumar ho jainsey bahut sundar"

I hope you know now why Manu Singhvi is so confident...

I undesrtand that all parties needed to be corrupt to counter the financial and muscle strength of well entrenched Congress Party, but what sets Congress apart from others is its ANTI-National actiitvies..Its un-ashamed support for Syed Gilani, Afzal, anti-POTA , Islamic Terrosism and mindless minority appeasement is well known but off late its links with Hasan Ali a known arms dealer with connections to Saudi's Adnan Khashogi  and  Shahid Balwa who sold stakes to Etisalat with ISI links that too in the sensitive telecom sector... I wonder who is getting done the 1lakh phone tappings..ISI or Congress? recent opposition for Kashmir Flag hosting?

And worst of all , Now when Pakistan is in no situation to bargain with India, the MMS government is overzealous to negotiate with Pakistan on allll matters.. I will look at this very closely, if they cede even a single inch of Kashmir to Pak or talk of letting Gilgit Baltistan go to pak then its would be the last nail in their coffin... We all should watch closely.. .

Therefore I can vote for the Corrupt but I can never vote for ANTI NATIONALS and TRAITORS the Congress (I)...  

In the Judgement Hon. SC did not questioned the administrative ability or integrity of PJ Thomas. All it said was that selection committee did not consider the pending case and adverse remarks of PoDT. They only refrained themselves from saying that the selection committee had some implied intentions.

Thomas's appointment went through the required process. Certain items in his resume were weighed differently by members of the appointing committeee. Much too much is being made out of this. While the government must be more diligent and prudent in making important appointments, we also need to watch the Supreme Court's tendency to expand its powers and encroach on the powers of the executive. This is more likely to happen when the government is weak, as it is now because of multiple scams. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy.

Leave Thomas alone. He is only charged with an offence and the trial has not even commenced. Concentrate on our Hon'ble Pm who has been tried AND convicted.

Arvind kejriwal is right. The mask is off MMS. MMS is a disaster who has forfeited his credibility.Appointment of  Thomas as CVC who was telecom secretary when 2G scam happened exposes the double standards of MMS on corruption.

>>Neither does the poor man know if he can live with honour or not!<<<

MALE UNBLOCKED
 

Mr PJ Thomas became the Chief Secretary of Kerala, Telcom Secretary and even CVC only because of his capability to accommodate corruption- corruption which he knew was happening but did not prevent- in Palmolien case and 2G SCAM- that is if his claim of being not party to the SCAM is true. Corrupt "IAS Babus" who support corrupt politicians are the bane of India and Mr Thomas is certainly a member of that gang. 

The Salad is full of Scams, Corruption,Thomas, Inflation, freedom for bofors and above all Miss-management. In this case PM and then HM are fully and only responsible for bringing yet again disgrace to the nation.

<p>It's ludicrous to speak of Manmohan Singh resigning. Such a resignation will never be forthcoming without the Gandhi monarchy's direct orders, and such orders will not be forthcoming at this juncture, while the Congress is in terrible shape. Singh has no political base and is therefore a safe chair-warmer; who can the monarchy replace him with? The Crown Prince can't possibly be put into the hot seat at this time, and as for the others, Pranab Mukherjee has a political base and is therefore too much of a threat; Chidambaram deserted the Congress once and rejoined, and is in any case far too closely identified with olilgarchical interests, even more than Manmohan himself; and AK&nbsp;Anthony is a Christian, and therefore ipso facto unacceptable. Therefore, Manmohan will continue to pollute the Prime Minister's office until the next election, unless something completely unexpected happens.</p>

Firstly, the judicial system was so slow that we still do not know if Thomas is guilty or not. Neither does the poor man know if he can live with honour or not!

As someone said, 'Justice delayed is justice denied'. And clearly, this is the crux of the problem here. It takes decades of inefficient, time and energy consuming 'justice'! 

Where is the accountabilty of the judiciary in this decade of justice? Should nt it hang its head in shame?

The second issue here, is that the Congress has hardcore ideologies like US appeasement and anti-male legislation. These are far more important than mundane issues like appointing a 'clean' bureaucrat!

Firstly, the judicial system was so slow that we still do not know if Thomas is guilty or not. Neither does the poor man know if he can live with honour or not!

As someone said, 'Justice delayed is justice denied'. And clearly, this is the crux of the problem here. It takes decades of inefficient, time and energy consuming 'justice'! 

Where is the accountabilty of the judiciary in this decade of justice? Should nt it hang its head in shame?

The second issue here, is that the Congress has hardcore ideologies like US appeasement and anti-male legislation. These are far more important than mundane issues like appointing a 'clean' bureaucrat!

<p>It's ludicrous to speak of Manmohan Singh resigning. Such a resignation will never be forthcoming without the Gandhi monarchy's direct orders, and such orders will not be forthcoming at this juncture, while the Congress is in terrible shape. Singh has no political base and is therefore a safe chair-warmer; who can the monarchy replace him with? The Crown Prince can't possibly be put into the hot seat at this time, and as for the others, Pranab Mukherjee has a political base and is therefore too much of a threat; Chidambaram deserted the Congress once and rejoined, and is in any case far too closely identified with olilgarchical interests, even more than Manmohan himself; and AK&nbsp;Anthony is a Christian, and therefore ipso facto unacceptable. Therefore, Manmohan will continue to pollute the Prime Minister's office until the next election, unless something completely unexpected happens.</p>

The Salad is full of Scams, Corruption,Thomas, Inflation, freedom for bofors and above all Miss-management. In this case PM and then HM are fully and only responsible for bringing yet again disgrace to the nation.

>>Neither does the poor man know if he can live with honour or not!<<<

MALE UNBLOCKED
 

Mr PJ Thomas became the Chief Secretary of Kerala, Telcom Secretary and even CVC only because of his capability to accommodate corruption- corruption which he knew was happening but did not prevent- in Palmolien case and 2G SCAM- that is if his claim of being not party to the SCAM is true. Corrupt "IAS Babus" who support corrupt politicians are the bane of India and Mr Thomas is certainly a member of that gang. 

Arvind kejriwal is right. The mask is off MMS. MMS is a disaster who has forfeited his credibility.Appointment of  Thomas as CVC who was telecom secretary when 2G scam happened exposes the double standards of MMS on corruption.

Leave Thomas alone. He is only charged with an offence and the trial has not even commenced. Concentrate on our Hon'ble Pm who has been tried AND convicted.

Thomas's appointment went through the required process. Certain items in his resume were weighed differently by members of the appointing committeee. Much too much is being made out of this. While the government must be more diligent and prudent in making important appointments, we also need to watch the Supreme Court's tendency to expand its powers and encroach on the powers of the executive. This is more likely to happen when the government is weak, as it is now because of multiple scams. Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy.

In the Judgement Hon. SC did not questioned the administrative ability or integrity of PJ Thomas. All it said was that selection committee did not consider the pending case and adverse remarks of PoDT. They only refrained themselves from saying that the selection committee had some implied intentions.

Vote for Congress if you wanna make India shine like Amethi... :)

I hail from UP and have the privilege of having some relatives in Amethi and visited the fort of Gandhis many a times. Amethi till date is one of the most backward nondescrit villages of UP and boasts of the worst infrastructure you can imagine forget industries.

When I ask my relatives why they vote for Gandhis here is there quote as is (you need to know a little avadhi/hindi to understand this)....

"Arrey Bahuria(sonia) sakhshat devi laagey devi, bitiya(priyanka) aur maa(sonia) dauno dhoodh jaisan bilkul safaid(white) key safaid dhari hain, aur Rahul babua to mano Rajkumar ho jainsey bahut sundar"

I hope you know now why Manu Singhvi is so confident...

I undesrtand that all parties needed to be corrupt to counter the financial and muscle strength of well entrenched Congress Party, but what sets Congress apart from others is its ANTI-National actiitvies..Its un-ashamed support for Syed Gilani, Afzal, anti-POTA , Islamic Terrosism and mindless minority appeasement is well known but off late its links with Hasan Ali a known arms dealer with connections to Saudi's Adnan Khashogi  and  Shahid Balwa who sold stakes to Etisalat with ISI links that too in the sensitive telecom sector... I wonder who is getting done the 1lakh phone tappings..ISI or Congress? recent opposition for Kashmir Flag hosting?

And worst of all , Now when Pakistan is in no situation to bargain with India, the MMS government is overzealous to negotiate with Pakistan on allll matters.. I will look at this very closely, if they cede even a single inch of Kashmir to Pak or talk of letting Gilgit Baltistan go to pak then its would be the last nail in their coffin... We all should watch closely.. .

Therefore I can vote for the Corrupt but I can never vote for ANTI NATIONALS and TRAITORS the Congress (I)...  

>>>Leave Thomas alone<<<

It is GOVT BABUS like Thomas who should be punished most for corruption because without their "active support" it is impossible for the politicians to indulge in LOOT. Maximum that can happen to Govt BABUs for not supporting LOOT is a transfer but if the newly posted BABU also refuse to support LOOT the transfer as a weapon loses its value. More importantly, the BABUS enjoy unparalleled job security- can any of us throw out even a "police constable, cleark or even peon" but we Indians have repeatedly thrown out even the most powerful politicians- from Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Vajpayee, VP Singh and have the power to show the door to MMS and Sonia Gandhi.  

 " And if we believe the buck stops with the PM, then the going is likely to become particularly tough for Manmohan"

But the thing is Manmohan SIngh does NOT believe the buck stops with him-unless he is totally cornered and has no escape route. Till then he always tries to brazen it out. 

CVC issue, by itself does not warrant a resignation from PM. But the trouble is that is not an isolated incident. Integrity Singh has established a pattern. Remember his defense of Raja? He appoints a GoM to fight corruption and includes Alagiri in that GoM. Why not form a GoM to fight terror and include Dawood? In S-band, he appoints a guy to review the entire deal-the same guy who formed the deal in the first place!!!!!! 

What happened in CVC is pretty obvious. The then telecom secretary Thomas knew more about Spectrum than anyone else. So he was appointed in the hope that as CVC, he would be helpful in nixing the case. The CAG report and the SC's active interest in the case derailed Singh's plan and by that time, he was so committed to Thomas that he could not back off. He tried to braze it out but ended with egg in his face.

"Certain items in his resume were weighed differently by members of the appointing committeee."

ha ha... ANwaar, you are qualified to be a sub for Bharkha and Vir. (are you already, in outlook ?)

"we also need to watch the Supreme Court's tendency to expand its powers and encroach on the powers of the executive."

Amusing.. really. Who was it who said Hypocrisy is a serious business and not an occasional syndrome, it needs great practice and its followers knows no shame (like the communists and their lefties) ?

Two decades ago India initiated economic reforms. The results are uneven but largely positive. High GDP growth helped millions of Indians improve their living standards although the burgeoning middle class and the upper class got the lion's share of the prosperity. Even the Indian private sector enterprises went through major reforms as a result, creating a large number of public companies with strong economic fundamentals. All these changes helped to shape modern India.

However, what has not changed in the last six decades was India's governance. The corrupt neta -babu nexus and an incomeptent government machinery continued to remain unchanged even after several pay commission recommended pay hikes. There were proposals for making changes in the governance framewaork. But the reports are gathering dust. The erring politicians and babus thanks to a tardy legal system have never been punished although sensational media induced trials grabbed headlines and people's attention for brief periods of time. Irrespective of party affiliations corruption continues to thrive among the political class while the government machinery starting from the babus downward have continued to make money by misusing their power and positions. However, because of larger size of the Indian economy, successuve scams reported in the media only increase in their sizes.  

Unless there is any big push to start a governance reform and there is commitment from larger section of politicians across party lines to take concrete steps against the culprits nothing will change. Even if the politicians are pressurized to enact laws like RTI aimed at adding more transparency to the governance process, politicians will always make attempts to amend and water down such laws , while the bureaucrats will be doing their best to find loopholes for not implementing them.

Judicial activism and greater involvement of the civil society to mobilize opinion are the only options. Image of the PM is irrelevant. Even Rajiv Gandhi used to be called "Mr. Clean" when he joined the murky Indian politics.

Two decades ago India initiated economic reforms. The results are uneven but largely positive. High GDP growth helped millions of Indians improve their living standards although the burgeoning middle class and the upper class got the lion's share of the prosperity. Even the Indian private sector enterprises went through major reforms as a result, creating a large number of public companies with strong economic fundamentals. All these changes helped to shape modern India.

However, what has not changed in the last six decades was India's governance. The corrupt neta -babu nexus and an incomeptent government machinery continued to remain unchanged even after several pay commission recommended pay hikes. There were proposals for making changes in the governance framewaork. But the reports are gathering dust. The erring politicians and babus thanks to a tardy legal system have never been punished although sensational media induced trials grabbed headlines and people's attention for brief periods of time. Irrespective of party affiliations corruption continues to thrive among the political class while the government machinery starting from the babus downward have continued to make money by misusing their power and positions. However, because of larger size of the Indian economy, successuve scams reported in the media only increase in their sizes.  

Unless there is any big push to start a governance reform and there is commitment from larger section of politicians across party lines to take concrete steps against the culprits nothing will change. Even if the politicians are pressurized to enact laws like RTI aimed at adding more transparency to the governance process, politicians will always make attempts to amend and water down such laws , while the bureaucrats will be doing their best to find loopholes for not implementing them.

Judicial activism and greater involvement of the civil society to mobilize opinion are the only options. Image of the PM is irrelevant. Even Rajiv Gandhi used to be called "Mr. Clean" when he joined the murky Indian politics.

Caesar’s wife would have banged her head against the coffin walls while listening to the Indian Prime Minister! It is beyond any body’s comprehension how he could have endorsed Thomas’s appointment particularly when there was disagreement within the committee that he himself was heading. Even a hypothetical argument that he was misled does not hold good as he preferred not to say so on an issue that had already started  flaring up. Has he ever thought about the cost to the taxpayer and the nation in running the whole "thamasha" both within and outside the Parliament for so long?. For the same reason, the people of this nation have a right to know the name of the villain if it is not the so called "coalition dharma". Certainly the PM owes it to the people of this nation.

We have lost our sense of shame long ago.It is futile to blame Manmohan Singh.

"Why did the government go out of its way to appoint such a controversial individual to such a critical constitutional post? "

A valid uneasy question. MMS cannot claim to be ignorant about this specially after Swaraj raised objection.

"There are no clear answers although there are suggestions that this was linked to the can of worms opening up in the 2G spectrum."

The aswer is actually pretty clear, but still it is something special coming from Saba. It looks like UPA is losing its supporters. Thankfully a resident congressi is still there to loyally defend the indefensible.

 ""Why did the government go out of its way to appoint such a controversial individual to such a critical constitutional post? "

Apparently it is because of the PMO. However I think it is because of bad instructions given by a traffic police in Bombay. He is the primary suspect. The second one is a cook from raj Bhavan in Madras.

UPA-I was pathetic as well, but the issues were lost in the "aam aadmi" support for the back-handed bribery called NREGA and largely due to negative, fear-mongering camapign of BJP. Now, they have run out of money for another NREGA and BJP has mellowed as well.

For the UPA-II, it is extremely urgent that MMS is replaced by a more competent and assertive person. Pranab Mukherjee or Chidambaram can be possible choices. The PMO needs an overhaul too. The mumbling indecisiveness of the current PM has resulted in a complete stand-still in governence and decision-making.

China took advantage of the recession and commodity melt-down to more than triple its reserves of natural resources and gold. It has been spending crazy on infrastructure and defence uplift. And, here we have a prime minister who shamelessly gives sermons on how India is headed to be a Global Superpower. The leaders of other countries are being extremely polite when they smilingly nod at such assertions. No country with empty bellies ever became a superpower. 

the ex cvc is dishing out humbug. he says that no clearance was sought from him. but will he please explain how thomas was given cvc clearance for his previous promotions as telecom secretary and chief secretary? the earlier clearances formed the platform for this post.

The fact is that all CVC,s of late have been rewrded with this post after they cooperated in some wrong doing in their earlier stints. The last non contoversial cvc was vijayshekharan and after that it has  been a rewards for favours post.it has become juicy post now due to cvc being on the selection committee for CBI chief. as an organisation it was recommendary body and a posting in cvc was not too well

 The Caesar's wife, it finally appears, has been on the side of Brutus all along.

Manmohan Singh never wanted to be a forced politician or a plausible Prime Minister. When he was called in for the position, he was requested to access the chair till the political head feels it's safe and clean for the dynasty to continue.

What Honorable PM has been doing is just guarding the chair for one - the ONLY ONE. Expecting political tantrums and techniques from a scholar is an inglorious act. Dr. MMS is ready to step down from the deteroriated, bug-bitten chair anytime. However, he's not been allowed to do so due to various affectionate assassinating request.

When a public servant age limit ---- who just serves common man at public offices ---- is 60, it's really a blood-clotting arrest to see 60+, 70+, 80+ people (who are supposed to sit in an easy chair in the balcony, sip a cup of coffee, and read 24-hours old printed news as a daily) thinking about: strategic initiatives (when they can't differentiate "a" and "6") , defense budget (when they can't even bend to their bottom), soft superpower dreams ( when they're the softest phase in their life), economic development (when they can go no where to earn a penny), infrastructure development (when they can'd ride bicycle by themselves), poverty eradication (when they can't eat a full meal a day), satellitte programs (when they can't differentiate a twinkle star from a tangent light on the sky), FDI (when they can't count a bunch of bills).....

What an irony life is!

"Toothless lions are talking about tooth pastes."

Abhishek Manu Singhvi says “everything that is legally wrong is not morally wrong”. Nitin Gadkari said (talking abut Yeddyurappa) that he may have been morally wrong but was not legally wrong.

How nice it is to be a politician and come out smelling of roses (or pretending to) no matter what s**t you are in. Trouble is the public smells the stench.

Lucky us.. even after each scam releases like a bollywood movie.. with hefty numbers. CWG, Adarsh, 2G.. there is no learning curve for Congress.. and it comes out with another blockbuster in CVC Appointment.. even BJP and Communists would have got tired by protesting each scam.. and confused on which scam to hold on and protest.

It saddens me (and I hope millions of Indians) to see that the PM and his government and the steel (should that read 'steal' aka Arvind Joshi and wife) bungle and cannot resign.

Every file that goes before the PM has everything on any appointee/candidate and therefore to admit that an incomplete file was placed before the HPC is to admit that the PMO and the DoPT needs a complete cleansing - TKA Nair and Secretary downwards.

Shri Chavan's defence that Kerala Govt cleared Thomas for Chief Secretary does not absolve him of the malafide in not checking Thomas' file before it was put before the HPC. Unless it was meant to embarrass the PM.

As for India's PM's personal honesty, at least he admitted under pressure that he was responsible but integrity - ensuring honesty of others - is sadly lacking. Else we wouldn't be witnessing the Supreme Court rapping the Govt so often that it is embarrassing for every Indian to spout the Singhvism to pointed questions.   

Manmohan Singh is verily Kaliyug's Dhritarashtra. Just as the king allowed his son to indulge in all sorts of misdeeds, MMS allows Sonia and her coterie to indulge in the rape and pillage of India's resources.

 If its only one scam the opposition controls the ruling party. If there are far too many the ruling party controls the opposition. Already the voices of communists and BJP have become muted- tired perhaps.