Not saving my skin in Ayukta affair: CM Siddaramaiah
The government has no power to refer the issue to CBI, said the CM
BELAGAVI: In an attempt to free his government from charges of corruption which have enveloped the institution of Lokayukta, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that the government has no power to refer the issue to CBI, and had constituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at the behest of Justice Bhaskar Rao.
Faced with allegations of a quid-pro-quo with the Lokayukta by leaders of Opposition parties in the Legislative Assembly, Mr Siddaramaiah replied: “It is baseless that I am trying to protect the Lokayukta, seeking gain. We have no intention to protect anyone, we will not protect anyone. We work as per the law. False allegations are being made with a political motive. It is a political conspiracy.”
He went on to explain that the Lokayukta Act does not permit the state government to suo motu, refer complaints of corruption in Lokayukta to CBI. “The Lokayukta had specifically asked for a SIT probe headed by an officer of the rank of ADGP. So, the SIT was formed and investigation handed over to it,” he added.
Earlier, the government beat a hasty retreat in view of protests by the Opposition against a move to amend the Lokayukta Act. Law and parliamentary affairs minister T. B. Jayachandra announced that he would withdraw the Karnataka Lokayutka (Amendment) Bill, 2015, making it mandatory for the ombudsman to submit annual performance report by October end every year, and would introduce a comprehensive amendment later.
“Keeping this in mind, I am not pressing the bill. During the session in Bengaluru during next week, I will bring comprehensive amendment bill,” he added.
Security for whistleblower
The Lokayukta police have made “appropriate” security arrangements for M N Krishnamurthy, the Executive Engineer of Zilla Panchayat, Bengaluru Urban, who exposed the corruption in the Lokayukta institution, by bringing it to the notice of Lokayukta SP Sonia Narang.
With the Lokayukta police registering an FIR against Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao’s son Ashwin Rao on July 1, Mr. Krishnamurthy has been on the receiving end of several threat calls from unidentified people using ‘unknown’ numbers, pressuring him to withdraw his statement and threatening him with dire consequences, if he did not.