Congress takes on Modi after Justice Mehta refuses Lokayukta post

The Congress Party on Thursday launched an attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after Justice (Rtd.) R.A. Mehta refused to take charge as the state's Lokayukta.

"In my opinion, if a Judge-a person who hands out justice-says what he has in the letter then it is time for us to understand the winds of Gujarat," said Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar.

" These are not the winds of the people of Gujarat, these are the winds of the Chief Minister of the Gujarat government who wants to bring these winds to the rest of the country; the man who wants establish himself as a powerful human being; the man who says that everything in Gujarat is because of him. The reality has been written by Judge R.A. Mehta in his letter," Babbar added.

The Modi-led Gujarat Government had fought long against the Governor's decision to appoint Justice Mehta as Lokayukta of the state, but eventually the Supreme Court of India cleared the retired judge's appointment.

On Wednesday, in a letter to Governor of Gujarat, Justice Mehta had refused the position of Lokayukta saying that he felt unwelcome by the state government.

"A Lokayukta unwanted by the government cannot get all the necessary and timely support from a reluctant government," Justice Mehta said.

"How can I take responsibility and become the Lokayukta when my objectivity and credibility are not accepted by the government and public functionaries whose conduct the Lokayukta may have to investigate?" Justice Mehta added.

"Rs. 45 crores of public money is said to have been spent by the Gujarat government in this litigation. This is a humongously disproportionate figure by any standard," Justice Mehta wrote in the letter.

The Modi-led Gujarat government has long argued that the appointment of Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal was "illegal" as it was done without consulting the their government.