The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ugrappa seeks judicial probe into transfers

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Thursday, Nov 20, 2008
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Karnataka - Bangalore

Ugrappa seeks judicial probe into transfers

Special Correspondent

Transfer of officials one of the biggest scams in the State: Congress leader
‘BJP Government has set a new trend of shifting officials all through the year’

Bangalore: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council V.S. Ugrappa has demanded a judicial probe into the large-scale transfer of government officials over the past six months.

He told presspersons here on Wednesday that the transfer of officials was one of the biggest scams in the State, and compared with the past when officials were transferred only during a certain period every year, the Bharatiya Janata Party Government had set a new trend of shifting officials all through the year.

“If the Government wants to show to the people that it believes in transparency, then it should order a judicial probe and place all facts relating to the transfers before the commission of inquiry.”

Mr. Ugrappa said on Tuesday 29 officials belonging to the Karnataka Administrative Service had been transferred, and one among them was the Assistant Commissioner of Karwar, Vijay Mahantesh, who had brought to the fore the discrepancies in the election affidavit submitted by the Minister for Fisheries, Science and Technology, Anand Asnotikar.

On the directions of the Election Commission, a criminal complaint had been filed against the Minister and a warrant had also been issued.

Mr. Mahantesh had issued an order on September 26 directing the assistant returning officer of the constituency (tahsildar, Karwar) to file a criminal complaint against the Minister.

The jurisdictional court has since taken cognisance of the matter. Mr. Asnotikar who was elected on a Congress ticket in the Assembly elections crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party and thereafter was

inducted into the Cabinet. He is going to contest the byelections on a BJP ticket.

Mr. Ugrappa said the ruling party was resorting to all sorts of measures to win the byelections and the transfer of officials was part of the game plan.

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