Chandigarh, August 23
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today virtually cleared the way to appoint an Indian Police Services (IPS) officer as a member or as the Chairman of the proposed State Vigilance Commission.
Speaking to mediapersons, the Chief Minister said the Draft Bill to set up the commission had been circulated. It will be modelled on the Act that had formed the Central Vigilance Commission in 1998.
“If police officers are allowed in the Central Vigilance Commission, then they should be allowed in the State Commission,” said the Chief Minister responding to a question as to why IPS officers have been kept out of the state commission.
The Draft Bill of Punjab had kept IPS officers out of the eligibility criteria to become the Chairman or a member of the State Vigilance Commission. It says that only a person who has been an Additional Secretary to the Government of India or a Chief Secretary or a Judge of the High Court will be eligible.
The Central Vigilance Commission Act, on the other hand, says, “The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners shall be appointed from amongst persons who are or who have been in an all-India Service or in any civil service of the Union Government.”
Since IPS officers are part of an all-India service, they would automatically be eligible, said an officer while explaining the statement of the Chief Minister.
It may be mentioned that since the Draft Bill had been circulated, it had created a sharp divide between the IPS and IAS cadres, of the state.
It may be mentioned that senior Punjab police officials were upset over the development and had decided to brief the Chief Minister about their opinion.
