Govt forcing me to appoint Lokayukta suo motu: Governor

But Bhardwaj says he will not do so as it will violate Constitution

Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj said on Monday that the government was prompting him to appoint the Lokayukta suo motu, but he would not violate Constitutional provisions by doing so.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in the City, the Governor said that there was a deliberate attempt to denigrate the Lokayukta institution, by not appointing an appropriate person to the post.

Replying to a query on the Lokayukta, the Governor said, “You tell me what can I do. I have been emphasising on appointing a Lokayukta. The government wants me to appoint someone suo motu, but I will not do it. Being a lawyer for the last many decades, I cannot violate the Constitution.”

He said he realised that the absence of a Lokayukta in the State for 11 months was unjustified. Bhardwaj said that people were trying to undermine the institution and he was in talks with the State government for the early appointment of the Lokayukta.

Poor law and order

The Governor flayed the Bangalore police for the poor policing, leading to a serious law and order situation.

“Law and order has taken a beating in the City. Senior citizens are knocked down or murdered. The recent murder of elderly people is a testimony to it,” he said.

When his attention was drawn towards the attempt by the State government to make the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force toothless, the Governor said, “Two things are apparent - there are heaps of garbage in Bangalore, which is not the culture of this City, and the poor law and order situation.”

HC adjourns petition

The High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a public interest litigation
alleging that the State government was delaying the appointment of the Lokayukta deliberately.

Advocate General S Vijay Shankar, during the hearing, told the division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Aravind Kumar that the State government had already started the process of appointing a Lokayukta.

Hearing the submission, the bench adjourned the case for three weeks.