New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) : With Supreme Court sacking P J Thomas as CVC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today described his appointment as an ''error of judgement'' and told the Lok Sabha that he accepts ''full responsibility'' for it.
He said the government respects the Supreme Court's verdict and would consider the guidelines given by it in appointing a new (CVC) Central Vigilance Commission.
"I have no hesitation in repeating what I said in Jammu. Obviously, there was an error of judgement. I accept full responsibility for it," Singh said.
He stated this when Opposition created an uproar after his suo motu statement had no mention about responsibility and contained only the sequence of events beginning from the appointment of Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner and its annulment by the Supreme Court last week.
In his statement earlier, Singh said, "we accept and respect the verdict" of the Supreme Court on March 3 and that the government would take into consideration the court's guidelines/directions while appointing a new CVC.
He noted that the meeting of the committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and Leader of the Opposition to choose the CVC took place on September 3 last year and recommended the name of Thomas for the post.
Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj gave a dissenting note, Singh recalled.
After Thomas' appointment, two public interest litigation petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment and the court quashed it, he said.
As he sat down after reading out the statement, the Opposition members vociferously expressed dissatisfaction.
Swaraj said she was "surprised" that the Prime Minister had not said even what he had stated in Jammu on Friday last about owning up responsibility for the CVC appointment.
"The statement made by you today is different from what you said in Jammu.... I was expecting that you would say the same thing in Parliament (what was said in Jammu), that you will own responsibility (for CVC appointment)," she said.
The Leader of Opposition noted that in Jammu, the Prime Minister had said that during a long tenure, some mistakes do take place and the appointment of CVC was one such mistake.
"I had immediately responded after that statement. I had said that the matter should end now. But I am surprised that you did not say here even one of those things which you said outside. You should say in the House whatever you said outside," she said amid chants of 'shame shame' by her party colleagues.
Left parties were not satisfied by the Prime Minister's contention that it was an "error of judgement".
Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) said the Prime Minister should explain how the error occurred. There was no response to this and finally, the Left members staged a walkout.