The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded immediate recall of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, charging her with not complying with the constitutional requirements in appointing R A Mehta as the state’s Lokayukta.
Members of the main Opposition party created an uproar and forced repeated adjournments of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha throughout the day.
Senior leaders including L K Advani are expected to meet President Pratibha Patil on September 3 to demand the recall of Beniwal . The BJP leaders believe Mehta should not have been appointed as the Lokayukta because he is not politically detached and has been involved in criticising the policies of the Narendra Modi government.
“R A Mehta had publicly criticised the Gujarat government over the management of the Narmada dam project. He had petitioned to the National Human Rights Commission against the state government in 2002. Some non-government organisations also suggested Mehta’s name as a judge to hold an inquiry into the riots of 2002. He had publicly spoken on functions criticising the policy of the state government in relation to the victims of the 2002 riots. Recently, he was part of a citizens’ movement in Gujarat,” Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, told reporters.
Swaraj further said the governor could not appoint Lokayukta without the advice of the council of ministers and the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court should not have recommended the name of Mehta on June 7 because he can only give opinion on the name suggested by the state government.
Beniwal had appointed Mehta as the Lokayukta on August 25 without consulting the chief minister or the council of ministers.
“According to the Gujarat Lokayukta Act of 1986, the chief minister first consults the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly and then consults the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court. On the basis of these consultations, the name is placed before the council of ministers for approval and only then it is sent to governor for appointment as Lokayukta. But this process was completely bypassed by the governor,” said Parshottam Rupala, a BJP Member of Parliament from Gujarat.
Rupala further said although the chief minister had recommended the name for Lokayukta in August 2006, the file was pending before the governor for three years. Even after that when the process was restarted, the Leader of Opposition, who is a member of Congress party didn’t take part in the consultation process and skipped five meetings.
“Now, Lokayukta was appointed on the recommendations of the Chief Justice which is against the Constitution. What is the need for a democratically elected government if the Governor has to act without consulting the council of ministers? It is against the constitution,” added Rupala.
