HR Bhardwaj virtually disapproved BJP govt's recommendation to appoint retired judge SR Bannurmath as Karnataka Lok Ayukta.
Virtually disapproving the BJP government's recommendation to appoint retired judge SR Bannurmath as Karnataka Lok Ayukta, Governor HR Bhardwaj Monday said he has asked Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda to furnish more names to fill the vacant post.
"I have urged the Chief Minister to furnish at least four more names for the appointment of a new Lok Ayukta," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here two days after citing 'technical defects' for not acting on the government's recommendation.
Bhardwaj had said the government did not obtain the consent of the state high court chief justice while recommending the name of Bannurmath.
The post of Lok Ayukta is lying vacant for the past two months after Justice Shivraj Patil quit following a land controversy, with opinion divided between the government and the opposition on appointing Bannurmath.
Bannurmath, a former Kerala High Court chief justice, is facing allegations of securing allotment of a residential site in judicial layout on a land earmarked for civic amenities.
Patil, a former Supreme Court judge who had succeeded Justice Santosh Hegde in August, had quit over allotment of housing sites to him and his wife in violation of rules.
The Lok Ayukta now has only one Upa Lokyukta after R Gururajan.
The other UPA Lok Ayukta resigned last month citing personal reasons.
Replying to a question, Bhardwaj said it was not advisable for him to endorse former Karnataka High Court judge M F Saldanha's suggestion to appoint a non-native as the Lok Ayukta as it would hurt the people's sentiments.
"Though Justice Saldanha's suggestion is good, I cannot advise the state government to appoint Lok Ayukta belonging to a different state. People will question my loyalty towards Karnataka," he said.
Declining to comment on state BJP President KS Eshwarappa's remarks on scrapping of the Lok Ayukta, he said he would not allow anybody to destabilise the institution.
On the transfer of Lok Ayukta ADGP Jeevankumar V Gaonkar, he said it would hamper the probe against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in corruption cases.
"I am not happy with Gaonkar's transfer as he was investigating some high-profile corruption cases. I had also opposed Pranab Mohanty's transfer from the post of Lok Ayukta DIG to Bangalore city police," he said.
On the government's decision to close down 1,500 schools with student strength of between six to ten from next academic year, Bhardwaj said he would talk to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri in this regard.
"I will discuss with Kageri before the matter comes up before the cabinet," he added.
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