CM prepared to change deemed 'rejected', to 'accepted'
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 06 February 2013 11:33 IST
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has said he does not mind changing his amendment “deemed rejected” to Karnataka’s original provision of “deemed accepted” in the Lokayukta amendment bill.
The bill is already passed in the recently concluded winter Assembly session amidst controversy.
However, the protests by the civil society and the hue and cry over it in the media have pushed Parrikar to a corner.
With his sensitive reaction to public criticism unlike other thick-skinned politicians, Parrikar has backtracked on his stand and perhaps decided to follow the public demand.
While adopting the Karnataka Lokayukta act provision as per the suggestion of Goa’s to-be Lokayukta Justice (retired) B Sudarshan Reddy, he had made a major change in the original provision.
The Karnataka act provided that the Lokayukta report on a corrupt public functionary like the chief minister or a minister deemed to have been ‘accepted’ if the competent authority like the Governor (for CM and MLAs) or the chief minister (for the ministers and others) does not take a decision on it for three months.
Parrikar, while adopting the provisions, changed this provision to deemed to have been rejected.
“I have no problem of changing it to deemed accepted provided the civil society understands the spirit behind adopting this whole section”, Parrikar told media persons today after the cabinet meeting.
He also said he does not mind making it compulsory to the chief minister or minister to resign (shall resign) instead of passed provision of ‘may resign’, while adding that the provision would not have much meaning.
“There are enough judgments that state very clearly that the chief minister can be removed only in the House and such laws cannot force him to quit,” said Parrikar.
Regarding the fine for a false complaint, the chief minister said he does not mind excluding politicians from it, but not the bureaucrats.
If people keep on filing false complaints and media publicises it, the whole good bureaucracy would get demoralized and administration would come to a standstill, he said.
