Uttarakhand Lok Ayukta Bill gets guv nod

Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has given his assent to the new Lok Ayukta Bill, passed by the state assembly last month.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said there was no need to send the Bill to President Pranab Mukherjee, as it had been done in the case of previous Bill, annulled by the Vidhan Sabha.

The President in September gave his assent to the Act but the government decided not to implement it describing the act as "unconstitutional".

A special session of the Vidhan Sabha last month passed the new Bill, modeled on the Lok Pall Bill passed by Parliament. Under the new Bill, the Lok Ayukta will be headed by a retired high court judge and will have five members.

The post of the chief minister has been brought under the Lok Ayukta ambit. While one seat in the body is reserved for women, one member will be from SC/ST/minorities group.