Campaigners of ‘Save the Lok Ayukta’ call the chief minister’s decision to recommend the same person an embarrassment
Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda pushing for Justice SR Bannurmath’s appointment as the Lok Ayukta of Karnataka, even after the governor rejecting his name twice is an “embarrassment for the state”, said the activists who have launched the ‘Save the Lokayukta Campaign’ in Bangalore.
According to Prithvi Reddy, coordinator of the India Against Corruption (IAC): “It is absolutely ridiculous for the chief minister to continue to suggest Bannurmath’s name, despite the governor rejecting it twice earlier.
The chief minister is embarrassing us by making it look like there is no ‘clean’ judge in the entire state of Karnataka.”
“If indeed the government is finding it difficult to find a suitable person for the post, then they should look outside the state of Karnataka to find a suitable person,” he added.
Although the government is unable to find a suitable person for the post, members of the Save the Lok Ayukta campaign have managed to do this in a matter of about 14 days.
“We are already preparing a letter with the resolution that we had passed and the list of names that we think will fit the bill. We will suggest this to the government soon,” said Prithvi Reddy. “We are currently doing a final background check of the names that we will be suggesting,” he added.
The resolution to find a suitable person and suggest a list of names to the government was taken on December 17, when Anna Hazare visited Bangalore.
Although he could not reveal the names being considered yet, “One of the names that seems to be topping the list is that of Justice Navdeep Kumar Sodhi, who was the Chief Justice of Karnataka till 2005 and is currently the presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.” RK Misra, another member of the campaign and the founder of SAHYOG - Indian Council for Public Private Partnership, believes that the need of the hour is to have a Lok Ayukta.
“To say that there is only one person who can lead the Lok Ayukta in a state as big as Karnataka is a joke,” he said. Nevertheless, he believes that the fault lies with both the governor as well as the government.
"If the governor finds fault with the candidate, he should specify what these are. The government on the other hand has to open their eyes and look for suitable candidates. It is surprising that the government cannot find another person who can take up the position,” he said.
While the BJP has been pushing for an unbiased Lokpal committee in the centre, the Save the Lok Ayukta campaigners believe that it should practise what it preaches in its own state.
“Although there is a procedure to select the Lok Ayukta in the state, the government has been saying that it is ‘tradition’ for the ruling party to suggest the name of the Lok Ayukta,” said Prithvi Reddy.
“The government has a chance to set the precedent here and we are appealing to the government to make use of the opportunity.”
Considering that tradition has not been working with regard to finding a suitable candidate for the post of the Lok Ayukta, Misra said, “Where tradition has failed, procedure should work. Perhaps it is time to follow procedure now.”
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