Representational Image of Members of Arappor Iyakkam. | Martin Louis
CHENNAI: The anti-corruption NGO, Arappor Iyakkam, has urged Governor Banwarilal Purohit to reject the Lokayukta Bill recently passed by the Assembly. In a letter to the Governor’s office on Saturday, the NGO said that the Bill in the current form defied the objective of independent investigation and prosecution in corruption cases.
It was also pointed out that the Bill, which was introduced on the last day of the Assembly’s budget session, would not provide freedom to Lokayukta in selection, recruitment, investigation and initiation of prosecution. “There is no power for the Lokayukta to file FIRs against the accused and chargesheet them in court. Neither there is the provision of special courts as in Lokpal nor there is a prosecution wing within Lokayukta to take up the case in court,” said Jayaram Venkatesh, convener of the NGO, in the letter.
The letter has attached the link of a Facebook video in which many have expressed their displeasure over the Bll. “We also ran an online campaign today in which hundreds of people tore what we called the ‘JokeAyukta Bill’ and appealed to the Governor to return the Bill,” said Jayaram.
