The Vijay Bahuguna-led Uttarakhand Government is going to repeal the State lokayukta which was passed during the previous BJP regime led by Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri and an anti-graft ombudsman on the lines of the Centre's lokpal would be implemented. For this they are going to held Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Sources confirmed that the Cabinet will decide whether the Act should be implemented in the State through ordinance or call a special session of the Vidhan Sabha.
The Congress high command, which does not want to give an opportunity to BJP prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who had categorically praised ex-CM Gen Khanduri for passing the lokayukta bill in the State and raised question mark over the Congress-led Uttarakhand Government during Shankhnaad rally on December 15, has authorised Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to initiate the process at the earliest to enable Uttarakhand earn the distinction of being the first State in the country to establish an anti-corruption watchdog on the lines of the lokpal bill passed by Parliament. For this, they have called Congress chief ministers' meeting on December 27. After the Cabinet meeting, CM Bahuguna would be able to assure party high command that the State is going to fulfill their wish shortly.
Replying to The Pioneer's query that the Uttarakhand lokayukta Bill had become an Act after the Presidential approval, then Congress MlA Subodh Uniyal said that if the Act is so effective, "then why Modi failed to implement it in GujaratIJ" He further said that the Act has several flaws and if it implemented, the State would not witness even an iota of development.
For this, CM Bahuguna had marathon meeting with gopan and law department on Tuesday and now cabinet would have mind boggling session on Thursday. Before this, the State Government is busy having discussions with the People Democratic Front (PDF) leaders because they have been consistently saying that the State Government should implement Gen Khanduri's lokayukta Act because president has given their approval. Although they had also said that after implementation, it would be the State Government's prerogative to make amendments.
During the meeting, CM Bahuguna has instructed their officials to draft a lokayukta on the pattern of the lokpal passed by the Parliament. A special session of the State Assembly could be convened any time after the Cabinet's approval for the new bill to pass the legislation, he said. Congress was never against the creation of an anti-corruption watchdog in the state as was often alleged by the Opposition BJP. Talking to The Pioneer, leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt said that the lokayukta Bill, which was passed during BJP regime in 2011, has more teeth and could be a more effective instrument to combat corruption in Uttarakhand than the UPA's version of lokpal.
Drafted at a time when Anna Hazare's agitation for a lokpal Bill was at its peak, the Uttarakhand lokayukta Bill was passed unanimously by the state assembly on November 1, 2011 after Gen Khanduri took over reins of power in the state for a second time in September, 2011. Given presidential assent after nearly a two-year wait, the lokayukta Act brings under its ambit the Chief Minister, ministers, MlAs, bureaucrats, former government servants and functionaries of the subordinate judiciary. In which BJP had also taken proper safeguards to prevent the lokayukta from becoming autocratic by making it a seven-member autonomous body with the leader of Opposition, members of the civil society and government functionaries proposed to be on the panel.