New Delhi, Nov 10: Describing media reports that Chief Vigilance Commissioner P Shankar met Prime Minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee and complained against six Central ministers that they were pressuring public sector units to cough up monies as "misleading", government today said the issues raised by the CVC would be discussed by a Committee of Secretaries. Maintaining that the CVC had briefed Vajpayee last month about various initiatives it had taken during the past one year, Cabinet Secretary Kamal Pandey said, "The Prime Minister directed that the issues raised by the CVC should be discussed in a committee of secretaries.”
"The meeting of that committee is yet to take place,” an official release said adding "at no point in the meeting (with the prime minister) did the CVC mention any names or make any allegations against any Central minister".
It said that at the meeting in which Pande was also present, the CVC dwelt on "the need to remove the misplaced fear of vigilance in the minds of senior public sector executives which often led to hesitation on their part in making decisions".
"The CVC delineated various measures which could be taken to build both autonomy and accountability in the functioning of the public sector undertakings,” it said.
The release said the news items carried by a newspaper "have no basis whatsoever and are misleading".
Bureau Report