Thiruvananthapuram:
Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, who himself resigned under a cloud, on Sunday backed Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas, asking the media to stop its "vilification campaign" over his appointment to the constitutional post.
Tharoor's comments came days after the IAS officers' association in Kerala supported Thomas in the wake of the controversy surrounding the appointment of the former Union Telecom secretary.
"What is happening with Thomas over his appointment is a media trial without a jury, without justice and without defence. It is a question of one's integrity."
"I am appealing to you (media) to stop the vilification against Thomas," Tharoor said when asked at a press conference here about the row over the appointment of Thomas to the post.
The government takes decisions to make appointment to such posts only after going through the records, he said.
He pointed out that the IAS officers association in Kerala had openly supported him, "which is a very rare thing to happen."
Tharoor resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs in April this year at the height of the IPL Kochi row.