The protest sees a bid to withhold the repercussions of decisions against Pinarayi, Bindu
A controversial ordinance seeking to “revert the Kerala Lokayukta to a minor advisory role” ahead of the upcoming 2022 budget session of the assembly is becoming the next political battlefield between the Left Democratic Front government and the opposition.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satisan in an open letter to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Tuesday urged him to repeal the ordinance that seeks to “institutionalise corruption and appeal to the public against nepotism and maladministration as the last resort”. closure” was demanded. He will lead the opposition delegation to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan on January 27.
Further, Mr. Satisan said the ordinance sought to reduce the stature of the Lokayukta by proposing to appoint lower court judges on the platform instead of a retired Supreme Court judge or former chief justice of a high court.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, the MLA, said the move to “dilute the powers of the Lokayukta” was to prevent the administrative repercussions of potentially adverse decisions against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Higher Education Minister R Bindu. The Lokayukta is probing them in separate cases on suspicion of corruption, nepotism and maladministration.
Mr Vijayan is accused of illegally diverting the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. The Lokayukta is probing Dr Bindu for writing to the Governor to “unlawfully extend” the term of Kannur University Vice Chancellor beyond the retirement age.
section 14
Mr Chennithala said the LDF tried to dilute the authority of the Forum by amending Section 14 of the Kerala Lokayukta Act, 1999. This provision empowers the Lokayukta to remove a corrupt official from office and prevent an offender from holding public office again.
Instead, the Ordinance seeks to empower the political executive, the Governor or the Chief Minister, as the case may be, to further hear the decisions of the Lokayukta. Thereafter, the executive could decide whether to abide by the decision of the Lokayukta or to reject or soften its decision.
Chennithala said that the government was saddened that due to the adverse decision of Lokayukta in the matter of nepotism, Left Independent MLA KT Jalil had to lose his cabinet post in the previous LDF government. CPI(M) politically cannot tolerate such fate of Mr. Vijayan or Dr. Bindu.
,