Industry favours Lokayukta Act in Uttarakhand

CM Vijay Bahuguna has described the Lokayukta Act passed by the BJP regime, as "unconstitutional"

Amid the controversy over the implementation of the Lokayukta Act, the industry, by and large, in Uttarakhand has supported the measure against the corruption.

'Barring few industrialists, most of the businessmen are in favour of the implementation of the Lokayukta. "We want that this lokayukta should be implemented. If the government has some reservations on the issue, then Vidhan Sabha is the right place where suitable amendments can be made. But the government must first implement the act to see what are its anomalies, if any," said Pankaj Gupta President of the Industries Association of Uttarkhand (IAU), a premier body of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the hill state. Gupta also said the industry will support any cause which is meant to fight corruption.

Rajiv K Agarwal, Managing Director of Glass Bulbs Pvt Ltd, a Dehradun-based miniature bulb industry, has also strongly favoured the implementation of the Act saying the measure will go long way to fight corruption. "You first implement this law, if there is something wrong, we have the scope to set it right," said Agarwal.

Significantly, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has described the lokayukta act, passed during the previous BJP regime, as "unconstitutional" and has convened a cabinet meeting on November 7 to review the measure. But a day before the cabinet meeting, Bahuguna has also called a meeting of the Congress legislature party (CLP) to discuss the issue. The move to convene the CLP meeting comes after Vidhan Sabha Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the lokayukta act should be implemented as it was passed by the House. President Pranab Mukherjee last month gave assent to the measure after it was passed by the state Vidhan Sabha unanimously in 2011.

Yogesh Jindal, a prominent industrialist of Kumaon region, however, said he was personally not in favour of the implementation of the lokayukta act. "We should not handover all powers to a single person (Lokayukta) as being envisaged in the Act," said Jindal, who is the Director of the Jindal Polymer Products Pvt Ltd. was also of the view that the "lokayukta should be there."

"Lokayukta is a right authority to check corruption," said Kochhar.