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Lokayukta sticks to his guns

Staff Reporter

‘Lokayukta Act does not permit holding parallel probes into the same issue'

‘It is immaterial when notice was issued; date of registration of JD(S) complaint significant'
‘I will not allow attempts to undermine the authority of the Lokayukta'

BANGALORE: The Lokayukta, which has registered a complaint against Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on the alleged land denotification issue, has issued a notice to the latter seeking his explanation.

“The complaint (filed by the JD-S) was registered on November 18, and I signed the notice on November 23,” Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde told reporters here on Saturday.

The notice has sought an explanation from Mr. Yeddyurappa on the allegations made out in the complaint.

The JD(S) had filed the complaint seeking an inquiry into denotification of land, favouring Mr. Yeddyurappa's family members in some cases. The land had been notified by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

“It is immaterial when the notice was issued as the date of registration of complaint is significant. The Government issued orders constituting a commission of inquiry on November 23, much later than the Lokayukta registered the case,” Mr. Hegde told The Hindu. He said the Lokayukta Act did not permit holding parallel probes into the same issue, and he would not allow attempts to undermine the authority of the Lokayukta.

‘An affront'

Irked by the Government's decision to order an inquiry into matters that are already under investigation by the Lokayukta, Mr. Hegde termed the move an “affront to a statutory organisation”. “Lokayukta police is ready to file a charge-sheet in this case. To ask us to hand it over to some other authority at this stage is not proper,” he said. Mr. Hegde rejected allegations of being biased against the BJP.

He said 14 cases had been filed as on date before the Lokayukta against the Chief Minister.

“Of them, eight have been closed without even issuing notices and in the remaining six, notice has been issued in one case pertaining to denotification of land.”

‘I've been impartial'

The Lokayukta maintained that he had been impartial in discharging his duties.

“I do not have any hatred for the BJP or the Chief Minister. If I had, I would not have closed eight cases without even issuing notices."

On the Government seeking a status report on various cases entrusted to the Lokayukta, Mr. Hegde retorted, “When there are 39 cases before me — referred between 2000 and 2010 — why does the Government want to know status of only seven cases?”

Piqued by repeated statements by the BJP attempting to project him as favouring the opposition camp, he said, “The latest notice is just to project me as a man with political affiliations. If I held any malice towards the Government, why would I, in recent months, close six cases against them?”

‘Made a mistake'

Further, he added, “Today, in retrospect, I made a mistake by withdrawing my resignation. Now, I cannot resign again, so I will complete my term.”

His five-year term ends in August 2011.

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