The SC verdict promises to prove ready fodder for the opposition parties' guns, and is sure to be a big stick to beat the state government with during the upcoming winter session of the UP Legislature.
The Supreme Court's decision on the appointment of the Lokayukta has delivered a devastating blow which has had the state government reeling under its impact.
The judgment is unprecedented and has delivered a resounding rap on the knuckles to the Akhilesh Yadav regime which spent over two years dawdling over the matter despite the stern view of the apex court. On Wednesday, the government seemed to have been stunned into silence as no official reaction to the SC verdict was forthcoming till late evening.
The SC verdict promises to prove ready fodder for the opposition parties' guns, and is sure to be a big stick to beat the state government with during the upcoming winter session of the UP Legislature. Opposition leaders have slammed the Akhilesh government for making a mockery of the Lokayukta institution.
UP Governor Ram Naik seemed to put the government in the dock as he expressed displeasure over its role in (not) appointing a new Lokayukta. "There has been an undue delay (in appointment). Despite all my efforts, the government did not take any decisive action. The (apex court) order is a lesson (for the government)," he told reporters.
"This is a slap on the face for the state government which should now realize how it has circumvented the law to keep its pet incumbent in the Lokayukta office to gloss over the corruption cases of ruling party leaders and bureaucrats close to the powers that be," said BJP spokesman Vijay Pathak.
Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh seemed to agree as he said: "The state government has made a mockery of the Lokayukta's institution. They wanted to force their choice which the (Allahabad HC) Chief Justice (CJ) rightly resisted."
The criticism is not without basis. The SP government wanted its chosen judge Justice (retd.) Ravindra Singh Yadav as the new Lokayukta. Both HC CJ DY Chandrachud and Leader of the Opposition SP Maurya opposed this. Both are members of the panel, besides the CM, authorized under the UP Lokayukta Act to choose the Lokayukta. The Akhilesh government even took the unseemly step of passing a Bill in the UP Assembly to divest the CJ of this power. However, the Governor had refused to sanction this Bill. The government finally dropped the idea after the Governor had returned Justice Yadav's file a record four times.
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