Lokayukta issue rocks Uttarakhand Assembly

The opposition Congress vociferously raised the issue of Lokayukta inside and outside the Uttarakhand Assembly here today, saying the state government's failure to constitute the anti-corruption body was a mockery of its policy of zero tolerance to graft.

Congress members created a ruckus in the State Assembly when their demand for a detailed discussion on the issue in the House under Rule 310 was turned down by Speaker Prem Chand Agarwal.

They rushed into the well of the House shouting anti-government slogans and insisted on a debate on the issue under Rule 310 prompting the speaker to adjourn the proceedings twice for half an hour each time.

Led by Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh Congress MLAs also held a procession outside the state assembly over Lokayukta.

"The in-house panel constituted to look into the Lokayukta bill has already submitted its report. However, despite that the legislation is not being brought in the assembly," Hridayesh said, adding, it is a "mockery" of the state government's much publicised policy of zero tolerance to corruption.

"If you have a policy of zero tolerance to corruption then why are you shying away from passing the Lokayukta legislation and constituting the anti-corruption ombudsman?" she asked.

Rubbishing the opposition charge, higher education minister Dhan Singh Rawat said the state government's one year in office had been absolutely clean and corruption-free even without the existence of a Lokayukta.