Modi cannot oppose Lokayukta appointment, says Moily

Hitting out at Narendra Modi on the Lokayukta issue, Union Minister M Veerappa Moily today said the Gujarat Chief Minister kept the ombudsman in "cold storage" as he has no faith in democracy.

Commenting on the Supreme Court upholding the appointment of Justice (retd) R A Mehta as state Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal, Moily said it is an "absolute setback" for Modi.

He wondered how the Modi government, which has come to power three times in a row, could oppose appointment of Lokayukta. "He (Modi) has put Lokayukta in the cold storage. That means he has no faith in democracy,"

Moily said, adding that the Gujarat chief minister has to respond positively for appointment of Lokayukta and cannot oppose it.

Moily, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, also slammed tbe BJP government in Karnataka for "not implementing" Lokayukta reports on land-grabbing, land denotification and illegal mining, saying if action was taken on them, 75 per cent of MLAs would go to jail.