In an interesting development, Bannurmath announced his decision to withdraw his name from the recommendation sent by the state government. Bannurmath, however, refused to explain the reason for the decision.
Governor HR Bhardwaj on Monday had the last laugh in his tussle with the state government over the appointment of Lok Ayukta by returning the file, recommending Justice SR Bannurmath’s name for the post, to the state government. Retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna’s name is doing the rounds as one of the likely choices of the state government to head the anti-corruption agency.
In an interesting development, Bannurmath announced his decision to withdraw his name from the recommendation sent by the state government. Bannurmath, however, refused to explain the reason for the decision. He is likely to address the media on Tuesday to explain his decision.
Apparently miffed over the ongoing tussle between the state government and the governor, Justice Bannurmath has decided to move away from the controversy. According to sources, Justice Bannurmath, in a letter to chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, urged him to withdraw the recommendation letter which the state government had submitted for appointing him as the Lok Ayukta.
The state government later conveyed Justice Bannurmath’s decision to Raj Bhavan to bring an end to the controversy. Later in the evening, Raj Bhavan, in a press communiqué, announced that the governor had formally rejected Bannurmath’s name for the post.
“His Excellency, the governor of Karnataka, having considered the proposal received from the government through the chief secretary, regarding appointment of Shri Justice SR Bannurmath as Karnataka Lok Ayukta and having taken into consideration the contents of subsequent correspondence between His Excellency the governor and the Hon'ble chief minister, has formally rejected the advice tendered by the chief minister in this regard. The file has been returned to the government,” the communiqué said.
The post of Lok Ayukta in the state has remained vacant ever since Justice Shivaraj Patil quit the post in September over allegations of owning a site in Bangalore in violation of Housing Co-operative Societies Act. The government’s candidate – Justice Bannurmath – came under criticism as he, too, allegedly owns a site in violation of the same rules.
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