Much before he talked tough on the Ordinance on criminal lawmakers, President Pranab Mukherjee had on September 4 given his assent to yet another controversial measure, the Uttarakhand Lok Ayukta Act 2011, considered the strongest weapon against corruption in the country.
Under it, the Lok Ayukta is empowered to take action against top-ranking officials, including the chief minister, cabinet colleagues and the lower judiciary but not the judges of the high court.
But unlike the Ordinance which became a big issue, the Lok Ayukta Bill story was kept under wraps in Uttarakhand, with the state unable to take further action on the gazette notification.
It was sheer chance on Wednesday that the news regarding the Presidential assent on the Lok Ayukta became public after the oath-taking ceremony of a deputy Lok Ayukta was cancelled at the eleventh hour when someone told the Raj Bhavan the appointment could not be done under the new Act. Now, the development has been confirmed by Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar.
"We received the Presidential assent on our Lok Ayukta Act on September 4. But, thereafter, the Act was referred to the legal department for gazette notification." When asked about the notification, Kumar said "it would be done in a day or two."
Mukherjee, credited by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani for the withdrawal of the Ordinance, is again being praised by the state BJP for giving his assent. "Though he (President) took time but I am thankful the Bill has got the final assent from the Rashtrapati Bhavan," said BJP leader B C Khanduri, being credited for putting his thoughts in the Bill when chief minister in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Congress government appeared to be in a quandary as Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had opposed the Bill saying he would take the judiciary out of its ambit. However, sources close to the minister said the government might bring an Ordinance to amend some of the strong measures.
