New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar was unanimously chosen Saturday as the next Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, informed sources said here.
Kumar was selected four months after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of P.J. Thomas to the post as he faced corruption charge. The Central Vigilance Commission is India’s official anti-corruption watchdog.
No official announcement has been made so far about Kumar but the sources said the Haryana cadre IAS officer of 1972 batch had been picked. Kumar retires as defence secretary July 31.
‘The name has been finalised. The government will announce it. I have not raised any objection,’ Sushma Swaraj, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, told reporters.
A list of probable candidates prepared by the Department of Personnel and Training was placed before the selection panel.
Other bureaucrats whose names figured in the list included former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, former Chemicals and Fertilisers Secretary Bijoy Chatterjee, former Secretary of Legislative Affairs V.K. Bhasin and former Urban Development Secretary M. Ramachandran.
On March 3, the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of Thomas as CVC and unveiled stringent guidelines for future appointment.
Thomas was selected in September 2010 as CVC by the prime minister and home minister, overruling Sushma Swaraj’s objection.
