Lokpal search committee constituted
Former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to chair meetings
New Delhi, Sept 27: The committee, formed despite concerns raised by the Congress, has former chief of SBI Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash and ISRO head A S Kiran Kumar as members.
Ignoring concerns raised by the Congress, the Narendra Modi government Thursday constituted an eight-member search committee to recommend the chairperson and members of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal. The search committee will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The committee has former chief of State Bank of India (SBI) Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) head A S Kiran Kumar as members.
Besides them, Justice Sakha Ram Singh Yadav, former judge of Allahabad High Court; Shabbir Hussain S Khandwawala, former Gujarat Police head; Lalit K Panwar, retired IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre; and former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar are the other members of the panel, according to an official order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
“The process of Lokpal selection is going as per the guidelines laid down in the Lokpal Act,” Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh told PTI.
The move assumes significance as the government decided to go ahead with the formation of the search committee despite Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, boycotting meetings of the Lokpal selection panel, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a senior government official said.
“The search committee is a major step towards setting up of the Lokpal. The committee will start its functioning soon,” he said.
The decision to constitute the search committee comes four years after the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, which envisages establishment of anti-graft body Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.
Kharge had been boycotting the selection committee meeting on the pretext that he is not made a full-fledged member in the panel.
He had rejected the invitation extended to him to attend the meetings of the selection committee held this year on six occasions– March 1, April 10, July 19, August 21, September 4 and September 19 — as a “special invitee”.
The eight-member search committee is mandated to recommend a panel of names for the appointment of the Lokpal and its members.
Kharge had earlier urged the government to amend the Lokpal Act to include the leader of the single largest opposition party in Lok Sabha in the selection committee and bring an ordinance in this regard.
As per the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, only the leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is a member of the selection committee and since, Kharge does not have that status, he is not a part of the panel.
A party should have at least 55 seats or 10 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha for its leader to get the LoP status.
The Congress is the single largest opposition party in the Lower House but its leader could not be given the LoP status as it does not have the requisite number to qualify for it, the official said.
The Lokpal selection committee headed by the prime minister has as its members the Lok Sabha speaker, leader of the opposition in the lower house, the chief justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the president or any other member.
Upon the recommendations of the selection committee in its meeting held on April 10, President Ram Nath Kovind had nominated Mukul Rohatgi, former Attorney General of India as ’eminent jurist’ member of the panel against the vacancy arising following the death of senior advocate P P Rao.
with PTI inputs
Courtesy: indianexpress.com
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
