Govt do not want effective Lok Ayog: Congress

Raipur, July 19, 2012

Congress has alleged that BJP government does not want Lok Ayog to be effective because it has nexus with the corrupt officials. “The ruling party apprehends that strengthening Lok Ayog would result in incarceration of corrupt officials,” said PCC office-bearers Pawan Diwan, Satyanarayan Sharma, Haridas Bhardwaj and spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla on Thursday.

“The government has refrained from taking action against the corrupt officials despite recommendations of Lokayukta which confirms that it wants to protect them,” said the Congmen.

“The remarks of Chief Lokayukta Justice LC Bhadu in annual Lok Ayog report for the financial year 2010-11 which was tabled in state Assembly on July 18 proves that the never intended to eradicate grafts,” they added.

“Bhadu says grafts prevail in every government scheme and the pace of corruption has surpassed the speed of development. These are serious remarks and expose government’s corrupt face. The remarks also confirm Congress allegations of grafts against the BJP government,” they said.

Notably, the Congress had submitted a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil and complained that grafts and scams over Rs 20000 had surfaced in Chhattisgarh. “We have handed over the same memorandum to Governor and raised corruption issue frequently in Vidhan Sabha in the past,” they said.

“This is the second time in one year that any constitutional body has remarked on corruption in government departments. Earlier, it was Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which, in its report tabled in Assembly budget session, had underlined scams over Rs 4000 crore in the government departments,” they indicated.

“Congress has always advocated for strong Lok Ayog because neither it has independent probe agency nor adequate staff. Whenever Lok Ayog receives complaints against any official, it recommends for probe to the particular official’s department. However, Lok Ayog itself questions the transparency of the inquiry report,” they said.

The Congmen further alleged that the BJP government was adopting double standard by involving into graft cases and protecting the corrupt officials. They said the ruling party was merely pretending to fight against corruption.