Goa Governor returns Lokayukta Bill

Goa Governor K. Sankaranarayanan has referred back the Goa Lokayukta Bill, 2011 to the government, raising some technical issues.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat told journalists on the sidelines of the National Press Day function here on Wednesday that the Bill was referred to the Law Department immediately to examine the points raised by the Governor and write back to the Raj Bhavan.

Statutory infirmities

The Lokayukta Bill, passed on October 6 by the Assembly during a brief session, was sent to the Governor for his assent a fortnight ago.

The government passed a “Goa Lokayukta Bill 2003” in 2007.

However, it was sent back by the Centre, after being sent for the presidential assent, due to certain legal and statutory infirmities.

Since then the Bill has remained with the legislature with intermittent attempts by the Kamat government to withdraw it to make way for a fresh draft.

Public pressure

However, as the anti-graft movement led by Anna Hazare gathered momentum across the country and with Goa too joining the agitation in a big way, public pressure compelled the government to pass a Lokayukta Bill in a hurry during a brief two-day winter session.

The government removed the “infirmities” from the 2003 Bill as pointed out by the Centre and it piloted the same as Goa Lokayukta Bill, 2011.

The Bill was passed without much debate.

The government even suspended rules of business through consensus worked with the Opposition.