Notice to Kejriwal ‘pains’ Speaker

NEW DELHI: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Tuesday expressed “anguish and pain” over notices served by the Lokayukta to the chief minister and other MLAs. 
The ombudsman had given show cause notices to Aam Aadmi Party members in response to a petition to the Lokayukta about the allegedly not furnishing details of assets and liabilities. 

In a letter written to the Lokayukta Reva Khetrapal, Goel said that the “subject is completely out of jurisdiction” of the Lokayukta.
The Speaker raised several questions on the petition, urging her to file a complaint against the petitioner before a competent court.

Goel said “the petition is nothing but a politically motivated and ill-advised attempt to harass and threaten the MLAs. The contents of the petition are bereft of any material arguments and instead contain baseless allegations against the members”. 

“Ideally, a preliminary enquiry from the office of the Lokayukta or the law department of the government or Assembly Secretariat would have brought out the true picture,” Goel added. 
The Speaker, in his letter to the Lokayukta, pointed that the petitioner’s claim that the MLAs were bound to declare their assets and liabilities as per Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 was not correct.

He said that all the MLAs, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who were covered by the Lokayukta notice, could submit their replies. “I have, however, suggested to the MLAs who wrote to me seeking suggestions over the notice that there is no provision as such for filing details of assets and liabilities by them before a competent authority,” he said.

Based on the petition by RTI activist Vivek Garg, the office of Lokayukta has issued notices to all the MLAs of Delhi Assembly asking them to furnish details and submit their replies by January 28.