BackKerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says govt will support vigilance head Jacob Thomas
Pinarayi Vijayan also declares a probe into the media reports that Jacob Thomas' phone calls and messages were being tapped
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Kozhikode: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday gave clear indications that the government will support Jacob Thomas and does not wish to replace him as the state’s vigilance head.
Thomas, an IPS officer, has been making news for booking high-profile politicians for corruption. He offered his resignation as the chief of Kerala’s anti-corruption wing last week, known as the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mint reported on 19 October. The resignation offer raised doubts over the support of the government, which came to power on the promise of zero corruption, towards honest officers.
However, in one stroke on Monday, Vijayan seems to have taken the wind out of the opposition sails.
Speaking in the state assembly, he announced for the first time in unequivocal terms that the anti-corruption crusader has the full support of the government. He also declared a probe into the media reports that the officer’s phone calls and messages were being tapped, regional media reported.
“Jacob Thomas is taking strong actions to check corruption and he has all support of the government. The government or the police force has not discredited him," the CM said in the assembly, as per regional media.
Also Read: Why Jacob Thomas is offering to quit as Kerala’s vigilance chief
In a Facebook post later, Vijayan added that under Indian Telegraph Act Section 5(2) a person’s phone or messages could not be put in surveillance without the government’s permission. In the case of the vigilance chief, the government has received no such request, nor has it given permission to snoop on him, he added.
Thomas has had a long history as an anti-corruption crusader, which has often meant taking on people in high places. Each one of his previous postings has been newsy, despite attempts by successive governments to push him out of policing and force him to spend most part of his career in non-police departments, such as horticulture or ports.
The appointment of Thomas as the head of vigilance department was one of the first decisions of Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Front government after coming into power in May. True to his reputation, Thomas has been going after powerful politicians across the spectrum and ruffling feathers since then.
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