Chennai: Taking objection to Tamil Nadu Government resorting to ad-hoc arrangement by giving the post of state vigilance commissioner as additional charge to chief secretary or home secretary, leader of Opposition M K Stalin on Wednesday demanded that Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao intervene and ensure independence of the organisation.

He demanded that the state vigilance commission get an independent vigilance commissioner and asked Mr Rao to direct the chief secretary to appoint a DGP level officer as the director of vigilance and anti corruption so that the “glorious features” of the anti-corruption machineries in the state are restored in public interest.

In a letter to Mr Rao, Mr Stalin took objection to “hurried change of guard” in the State Vigilance Commission when many of the Ministers and certain Officers in the present AIADMK regime are facing serious allegations of massive corruption. He was referring to the home secretary being made in-charge of the commission and alleged that even the transfer order was not posted on the official web portal.
The post of state vigilance commissioner had been continuously kept under additional charge of the successive chief secretaries under AIADMK regime after the “unceremonious transfer” of R. Balakrishnan within two weeks of late J. Jayalalithaa assuming office in 2011, Mr Stalin said, adding that the commission has been headless and robbed of its guaranteed independence.

“Such an adhoc arrangement placing the home secretary in additional charge of an important post of vigilance commissioner has completely eroded the independence of the state vigilance commission. The secrecy maintained in this posting even without uploading the government order in Tamil Nadu IAS Intranet is shrouded in mystery and reflected the ill intention behind the move,” Mr Stalin said in the letter.

He also referred to Supreme Court’s ruling several times that held that “Central Vigilance Commission should be given a statutory status” and said it applies equally to the state vigilance commission, as the mandate of this commission is also to eradicate corruption in the state covernment and its prominent role in various stages of investigations carried out by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption.

“All anti-corruption machineries in the state have been allowed to break down intentionally and the prevailing high level corruption in the state is threatening not only the welfare of people but also the development of the most important state in our nation,” Mr Stalin said.