JOIN USJustice Patil has submitted his resignation to the Governor. It has to be accepted. The State government will adopt a neutral step, neither in favour of acceptance or rejection of the resignation, a senior official in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said.
Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda is scheduled to meet Governor H R Bhardwaj at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday morning. It is a pre-arranged visit. The Lokayukta issue is unlikely to come up for discussion, the official said.
If the Governor accepts Patil’s resignation the government will have to search for a new Lokayukta, a sensitive issue considering that the new anti-corruption ombudsman will have to take crucial decisions on the government’s response on the report on illegal mining. The government has appointed a high level committee to study the report and will have to submit its response to the office of the Lokayukta by October 27.
The report submitted by former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde indicts more than 600 officials for their role in illegal mining.
The police attached to Lokayukta are probing complaints of corruption and illegal land deals against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, his two sons and son-in-law besides the KIADB scam involving former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu and his corporator son Jagadish.
The Lokayukta is appointed by the Governor on the advice of Chief Minister in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, the Chairman, Legislative Council, the Speaker, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.