India Forces Out Corruption Watchdog

"Let he who is without disproportionate assets squirreled away in safe deposit box cast the first stone," might well become India's version of the homily, as it becomes increasingly clear that finding a judge, lawmaker, member of parliament or civil servant whose character is beyond reproach is well-nigh impossible.

The latest?

The country's chief anti-corruption watchdog, Central Vigilance Commission chief PJ Thomas, has finally been forced to resign over allegations that in 1992 he inked a deal on behalf of the government to import palm oil at inflated prices, "thereby causing significant losses to the public purse," reports the BBC (in its inimitable style).

Given that Thomas was supposed to lead the investigation into corruption in allocating contracts for the Commonwealth Games and other high-profile embarrassments, his removal is likely to reinforce the impression that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lost his grip on the government and has thrown open the treasury vault to looters of all stripes.

But that may not be fair, Prem Shankar Jha argues in Tehelka. Though Singh was roundly criticized for being wishy-washy in his fireside chat with news editors last month, Jha says the PM's actions speak louder than words: 

Within a day of his televised press conference, three things happened that made history. Former DMK minister A Raja was sent to Tihar jail in judicial custody till 3 March; business tycoon Anil Ambani was interrogated by the CBI at its headquarters for three hours on his possible connection with the 2G scam, and the Tamil television station owned by A Raja — Kalaignar TV — was raided and searched thoroughly through the long night for evidence of money inflows into it and possible kickbacks to Raja from recipients of the 2G licences.