'PM worried about tapping, not corruption'

Senior BJP leader L K Advani today attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for asking the Cabinet Secretary to look into the issue of telephone tapping, saying he seemed to be more concerned about the leakage than the credibility of his government on the issue of corruption.
"He (Prime Minister Manomhan Singh) is worried about that (leakage). What is the aspect of concern? Common man's concern is about the credibility of the government. There should be concern about this but that is not there," Advani remarked at an NDA press conference here.
Advani was referring to Singh asking Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar earlier in the day to look into the issue of telephone tapping.
"Are these matters about which the PM should be worried? I don't understand," he said.
Referring to the controversy, Advani said the nation had witnessed how business lobbyists play a role in government formation.
"It appeared that UPA government is not formed by the Prime Minister and, for long, we were under the wrong impression that it is not the PM but 10 Janpath (Congress President) which forms the Cabinet. But now, it has come forward that its neither the Congress president nor the PM who forms the government", Advani said.
Pointing a finger at corporate lobbyists, the BJP leader said the tapes reveal that confidence with which they claim who should be allotted what portfolio.
He said the Prime Minister might not be aware of several things going on in his government.
Advani said during the stalemate in the winter session of Parliament, government did not give a single "credible" reason for not agreeing to JPC probe on 2G scam.
He also criticised the Prime Minister on the appointment of P J Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner saying he insisted on having the former telecom secretary for the top job despite Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj's objections.

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CVC Launches an Exclusive Website, ‘Vig-Eye’ to Expose Corruption

NEW DELHI: Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on Thursday, on the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day, launched an exclusive website, called Vig-Eye (short for ‘vigilance eye’) to expose corruption in India. The web portal would enable citizens to upload video/audio clips directly from their mobile phones exposing corruption in government departments.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Empowering citizens to combat corruption’, Central vigilance commissioner P J Thomas, who himself facing a legal challenge to his appointment, launched the website on Thursday, December 9. “Vig-Eye provides a simplified process to file complaints. The complainants will also be able to access the status of their complaints,” he said at a seminar.

“The advantage of Vig-Eye includes a simplified process of filing complaints and it will provide authentic identity of the complainant. Vig-Eye would be completely digitised and it will give online access to vigilance information,” he added.

Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas

However, when reporters asked him about the Supreme Court notice asking him to explain why his appointment should not be quashed, he remained tightlipped and said, “The matter is sub judice and I will not comment on it.”

‘Vig-Eye’ would provide the user-friendly platform for citizens so that they can disclose information on illegal activities. In order to file a complaint, citizens just need to download a mobile application software from the CVC website, www.cvc.nic.in. Thereafter, they can start uploading audios or videos. Alternatively, one can register on the CVC website or SMS on 9223174440.

The files uploaded by the citizens on the web portal will be taken up by the commission for further enquiries. The new portal would enable even common man to carry out a sting operation.

This new citizen-centric initiative by the CVC, if followed properly, would work for a more ”preventive, proactive and predictive” vigilance framework and campaign to promote values of ethics and good governance.

People can visit the CVC website to access or get more information on Vig-Eye.

CVC Website: www.cvc.nic.in

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