<p>“The only forum competent to investigate offences is the police. The Lokayukta institution has a police wing and has the powers to conduct any inquiry. But the government has ordered a judicial inquiry to create confusion,” the governor said on the sidelines of an event in Bangalore.<br /> <br /> Objection<br /> <br /> Bhardwaj’s comments come in support of Lokayukta Justice (retired) Santosh Hegde who had objected to the BJP government ordering the probe headed by a retired high court judge when the matter was pending before him.<br /> <br /> Bhardwaj said that according to a 1993 Supreme Court ruling in the V Narayan case, the police are the competent authority to investigate offences. “The Lokayukta is investigating the issue. It will unearth the truth,” he said. <br /> <br /> This comes as a further embarrassment to Yeddyurappa, who had forwarded Katta Subramanya Naidu’s letter of resignation from the post of IT and BT minister to the governor.<br /> <br /> Katta submitted resignation after the Lokayukta police registered an FIR against him and nine others, including his son Katta Jagadish, in a multi-crore scam involving purchase and compensation pertaining to Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board land. <br /> <br /> Yeddyurappa also faces a notice the Lokayukta served on him, seeking his views on a complaint filed by the JD(S) on land scams. <br /> <br /> “It is not right to create an anti-corruption institution like the Lokayukta and enforce restriction on it; the government must not have any mistrust in the Lokayukta,” the governor said. <br /> <br /> He said as per his duty as the governor, he has been reporting about state government’s political situation to the President every month.<br /> <br /> Asked about the land scam which led to the resignation of Katta, he said: “I do not want to react about what is happening. Ministers are also not listening to my advice. When I raised the illegal mining issue, there was criticism that I was misusing my position. I will leave it to people to judge.”<br /></p>
<p>“The only forum competent to investigate offences is the police. The Lokayukta institution has a police wing and has the powers to conduct any inquiry. But the government has ordered a judicial inquiry to create confusion,” the governor said on the sidelines of an event in Bangalore.<br /> <br /> Objection<br /> <br /> Bhardwaj’s comments come in support of Lokayukta Justice (retired) Santosh Hegde who had objected to the BJP government ordering the probe headed by a retired high court judge when the matter was pending before him.<br /> <br /> Bhardwaj said that according to a 1993 Supreme Court ruling in the V Narayan case, the police are the competent authority to investigate offences. “The Lokayukta is investigating the issue. It will unearth the truth,” he said. <br /> <br /> This comes as a further embarrassment to Yeddyurappa, who had forwarded Katta Subramanya Naidu’s letter of resignation from the post of IT and BT minister to the governor.<br /> <br /> Katta submitted resignation after the Lokayukta police registered an FIR against him and nine others, including his son Katta Jagadish, in a multi-crore scam involving purchase and compensation pertaining to Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board land. <br /> <br /> Yeddyurappa also faces a notice the Lokayukta served on him, seeking his views on a complaint filed by the JD(S) on land scams. <br /> <br /> “It is not right to create an anti-corruption institution like the Lokayukta and enforce restriction on it; the government must not have any mistrust in the Lokayukta,” the governor said. <br /> <br /> He said as per his duty as the governor, he has been reporting about state government’s political situation to the President every month.<br /> <br /> Asked about the land scam which led to the resignation of Katta, he said: “I do not want to react about what is happening. Ministers are also not listening to my advice. When I raised the illegal mining issue, there was criticism that I was misusing my position. I will leave it to people to judge.”<br /></p>
