Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, who himself resigned under a cloud, on Sunday backed Chief Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas, asking the media to stop its “vilification campaign” over his appointment to the constitutional post.
Mr Tharoor’s comments came days after the IAS officers’ association in Kerala supported Mr Thomas in the wake of the controversy surrounding the appointment of the former Union telecom secretary.
“What is happening with Mr Thomas over his appointment is a media trial without a jury, without justice and without defence. It is a question of one’s integrity. I am appealing to you (media) to stop the vilification against Thomas,” Mr Tharoor said when asked at a press conference here about the row over the appointment of Mr Thomas to the post.
The government takes decisions to make appointment to such posts only after going through the records, he said. He pointed out that the IAS officers association in Kerala had openly supported him, “which is a very rare thing to happen”.
Mr Tharoor resigned as minister of state for external affairs in April 2010 at the height of the IPL Kochi row.
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...Bats for Kochi IPL team
Age Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
Dec. 5: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday expressed happiness that the Kochi IPL team had finally become a reality and termed it a “great day for Kerala and sports lovers”.
“I think the Kochi IPL team will also contribute to the overall development of Kerala which is stuck in an old vision of economics,” said Mr Tharoor, who lost his ministership in the Union Cabinet over controversies relating to the franchise. “It will also spur tourism”. The Congress MP reiterated that he never had any association with the business element of the IPL team, had only played an adviser’s role.