Vigilance Clearance Certificates, submitted to the Karnataka Lokayukta by the State government while recommending names of three candidates as members of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), will come under the scanner of the anti-corruption body following a petition by RTI activist T.J. Abraham.
In a complaint to the Lokayukta on Wednesday, Mr. Abraham alleged that Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee produced “fabricated, bogus, questionable and not genuine vigilance reports” of three “tainted” candidates — Syed Ulfat Hussain, H. Govindaiah, and H. Ravikumar — while recommending their names to the KPSC.
He urged the Lokayukta not to clear the vigilance reports and demanded it conduct an investigation into all persons for whom the certificates have been issued.
The government had recommended to Governor Vajubhai R. Vala the names of Congress leader V.R. Sudarshan and six other candidates for the KPSC appointments. Mr. Vala returned the file to the government seeking more information, including vigilance reports vetted by the Lokayukta.
Mr. Mukherjee told The Hindu that there was no substance in the allegations and “it is up to the Lokayukta to investigate”.
Mr. Mukherjee said the government had not submitted a vigilance report on Mr. Sudarshan to the Lokayukta since he was not an official.
He had quit the Congress membership. He said several politicians had become chairmen of the KPSC in the past.
