Lok Ayukta Act amendment: Opposition UDF meets Kerala Governor
India Today
Opposition leader Satheesan alleged that the justifications by the government to bring the amendment appeared to be frivolous, politically driven, and in stark contravention of the established laws in this country.
A delegation of the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) on Thursday met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Raj Bhavan here and submitted a memorandum requesting him not to give assent to the proposed ordinance amending the state Lok Ayukta Act by the Left government in Kerala.
The front leaders, led by Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan, appraised him about the concerns regarding the amendment and pointed out the legal aspects against it.
In the memorandum, Satheesan alleged that the justifications by the government to bring the amendment appeared to be "frivolous, politically driven, and in stark contravention of the established laws in this country."
"In this ordinance, the executive is openly proclaiming a statute that has been in effect for 22 years to be unconstitutional and is proposing an ordinance to change the provision. This is ultra vires and goes against the fundamental tenets of the Indian constitution," the UDF representation pointed out.
With the legislative assembly session slated for next month, there seems to be no compelling reason to change the law, which has been in existence for over 22 years, it alleged.
It further charged that the only immediate reason that could be perceived is that the Lok Ayukta is about to take up cases against the Chief Minister in the relief fund misappropriation and the Higher Education Minister in the university issue.
It should be understood that the government is expecting an unfavourable verdict in these cases and this ordinance is a shield to guard against any unsavoury decisions from the Lok Ayukta.
