<p>President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to Thomas, a 1973 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Thomas succeeded Pratyush Sinha, a 1969 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, who demitted office yesterday after a four-year tenure as the CVC.<br /><br />Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar were among those present at the swearing-in ceremony.<br /><br />The selection of the new CVC was marked by a controversy after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who is part of three-member selection committee, objected to the choice of Thomas as the chief of anti-corruption watchdog alleging he has a tainted background.<br /><br />Swaraj had given a 'dissent note' on the selection of Thomas alleging that he had a hand in the "cover up" of the 2G spectrum scam. However, the Prime Minister yesterday defended the appointment of Thomas as the new CVC.<br /><br />"We have done the right thing. We have chosen the best candidate out of the list of three," he had told a group of editors here. Thomas's name was cleared by a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.</p>
<p>President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to Thomas, a 1973 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Thomas succeeded Pratyush Sinha, a 1969 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, who demitted office yesterday after a four-year tenure as the CVC.<br /><br />Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar were among those present at the swearing-in ceremony.<br /><br />The selection of the new CVC was marked by a controversy after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who is part of three-member selection committee, objected to the choice of Thomas as the chief of anti-corruption watchdog alleging he has a tainted background.<br /><br />Swaraj had given a 'dissent note' on the selection of Thomas alleging that he had a hand in the "cover up" of the 2G spectrum scam. However, the Prime Minister yesterday defended the appointment of Thomas as the new CVC.<br /><br />"We have done the right thing. We have chosen the best candidate out of the list of three," he had told a group of editors here. Thomas's name was cleared by a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.</p>