U'khd govt shying away from constituting Lokayukta: Cong

Opposition Congress Monday slammed the Uttarakhand government for "shying away" from constituting the Lokayukta despite boasting of zero tolerance to corruption.

"A government which swept to power promising to constitute the Lokayukta within three months of assuming office is dragging its feet on the issue despite being in power for more than a year," Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh said during Zero Hour in the stateassembly.

Accusing the BJP-led state government of not being serious on the issue, she said the Lokayukta bill was referred to the standingcommittee of thestateassembly despite the Opposition supporting the legislation last year.

The standing committee has already submitted its report but there has been no further move by the state government on the matter, she said.

"Do not make 'zero tolerance to corruption' justa slogan. Tell the people when willyou constitute the Lokayukta," Hridayesh demanded.

Uttarakhand Congress president and Chakrata MLA Pritam Singh also cornered the state government for not instituting a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the NH 74 land compensation scam despite Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat giving an assurance to this effect in the state assembly.

"Why are you now shying away from a CBI probe into the scam? Who are you trying to shield?" Singh said.

Alleging a scam worth Rs 5 crore in the Public Works Department (PWD), the Congress leader said corruption was flourishing in the state.

Other Congress MLAs, including former assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and Manoj Rawat, also questioned the government over the Lokayukta issue.

In his reply on the issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said the state government had always been serious on the issue of corruption.

"The standing committee has submitted its report on the Lokayukta and the document now belongs to the state assembly," he said.

Following the minister's comments, Opposition members rose from their seats in protest and rushed towards the Speaker's chair, accusing the state government of shying away from defining a time frame for constituting the anti-corruption body.

As the Opposition leaders refused to resume their seats, Speaker Prem Chand Aggarwal adjourned the House till lunch.