Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday rejected the Opposition demand for withdrawing the order on establishing the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), stating there was “no ulterior motive” to protect the corrupt or to weaken the Karnataka Lokayukta.
Replying after the BJP and JD(S) ended their dharna in the Legislative Assembly demanding withdrawal of the order, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was willing to discuss ways to strengthen the Lokayukta institution with the Opposition.
He maintained that anomaly in the functioning of the Lokayukta, which has been exercising powers under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, of the Union government, had been removed by forming the ACB.
As soon as the House met, Opposition members continued their dharna for the second day, urging the government to withdraw the order. Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa adjourned the House for a few minutes to chair a meeting of the floor leaders to find an amicable settlement of the issue.
Following the Speaker’s request to the Opposition not to disrupt the House proceedings, Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said, “We are withdrawing the protest to allow members to discuss various burning issues such as drought.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Shettar said the order on the ACB should be withdrawn “at any cost” and his party would take the fight outside the House. He suggested to the government to bring an amendment to strengthen the Lokayukta.
