Vigilance fails to improve under left regime
The harsh criticism unleashed by the Special Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this week against Kerala's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) and its Director Jacob Thomas over their reluctance to initiate investigations against Ministers and top Government officials, has rekindled discussions over how the anti-corruption agency is continuing to be the proverbial ‘caged parrot’ under the CPI(M)-led lDF Government. The court was provoked into raising this criticism by the delay in ordering a quick verification against Marxist Minister J Mercykutty Amma of the CPI(M) over a Rs 10.34-crore corruption charge. The vigilance bureau had gone through several controversies during the tenure of the former Congress-led UDF Government and there were allegations about the agency's efforts to protect corrupt Ministers, bureaucrats and even low-level personnel with connections with top politicians, in scandals such as the bar bribery. Similar or even harsher criticism had been levelled against the agency and its chief by the same court during that period. When Thomas, known as an upright and uncompromising IPS official, was appointed as VACB chief after the left came to power, the State had expected the start of a relentless war against graft. But six months down the line, what Kerala sees is a repetition of its old habits. Thomas ordered a quick verification against Mercykutty Amma over two months after he received a complaint and only after the complainant approached the Vigilance court three times.
Also, the order came just a day before the court was to consider the complainant's petition. The court reminded the Vigilance Director that such a delay was seen also in the initiation of investigations against CPI(M)'s central committee member EP Jayarajan, who was forced to resign as Industries Minister in October over the charge of making nepotistic appointments, and against senior IPS official R Sreelekha, Additional DGP. Kerala had seen the Congress-led Opposition UDF and the ruling lDF attack each other in the Assembly over the sincerity and efficiency or the lack of these qualities of Thomas and the agency, in the last session. The UDF has reasons to find fault with him as it is aware that skeletons of many of the wrongdoings during its tenure in Government could tumble out of the cupboard if the agency acts seriously.
But soon the State saw the vigilance department showing the same kind of callousness it had during the former Government's tenure, despite the promise made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Assembly that his Government “would not clip the parrot's wings”. As things are progressing (or regressing) presently, there is no reason to hope for effective, quick and sincere vigilance probes into any of the raging scandals in the State. The political system must appreciate the importance of operational freedom for the anti-corruption agency.