Bring legislation to appoint Lokayukta in state: BJP

BJP chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh appealed to the state coalition government here on Tuesday to bring in legislation in the next session of the Legislative Assembly to appoint state Lokayukta.

BJP chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh appealed to the state coalition government here on Tuesday to bring in legislation in the next session of the Legislative Assembly to appoint state Lokayukta.

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"With the Parliament almost unanimous on Lokpal Bill, and the National Conference (NC) also supporting it, it is strange that for Jammu and Kashmir, which has been rated as among the three most corrupt states in the country, the same NC-led-government finds no need to appoint a Lokayukta," said Singh.

Singh observed that it was already too late, considering the fact that most of the leading states of India already had a Lokayukta.

"While Maharashtra was the first state to introduce the Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act way back in 1971, similar acts have subsequently been enacted by the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Goa," said Singh, adding, "It is embarrassing that Jammu and Kashmir enjoys the dubious distinction of being in the bracket of states like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, etc which are yet to enact a provision for the Lokayukta."

Contesting the NC-led-government's claim that there was no need for special laws like Lokayukta in the state, Singh alleged that it was only an alibi to escape from being entrapped in a series of scams and corruption cases involving several ministers and other high-ups.