New Delhi:
Justice Santosh N Hegde is not placated by the explanation offered to him by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Mr Hegde is one of five activists appointed to the committee that's meant to draft a new law against corruption. He says he may quit the committee because of "a vilification campaign" against the five activists on the Lokpal Bill panel.
Mr Singh has been critical of Mr Hegde's track record as the Lokayukta (Ombudsman) in Karnataka, suggesting that Mr Hegde has failed in checking corruption within the BJP government there. Mr Hegde said last night that he was "very very hurt" by that remark, prompting Mr Singh to say that he did not mean to target Mr Hedge personally who he described as India's best Lokayukta.
Mr Hegde said this morning that he's not mollified by that explanation. "I don't think I will fall for that or I will accept that statement...this gentleman four-five days back said when asked by the media 'What do you think of Justice Hegde?' and he said, 'I don't know anything about him.' A person who did not have any information about me a couple of days back suddenly makes such a statement about me - it must be part of the conspiracy to defame people who are there in the committee."
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked the state Economic Offence Wing (EOW) to file a final report against Digvijaya Singh by June 30.
This is in connection with the alleged irregularities in the construction of a shopping mall.
A complaint has been lodged with the EOW alleging that the then Digvijaya government in Madhya Pradesh favoured the mall directors using state machinery.
A flurry of allegations of corruption and questions over their credibility have targeted the civil activists on the Lokpal Bill committee, which pairs five ministers with five activists.
It was set up earlier this month after a hunger strike by 72-year-old Gandhian Anna Hazare became the centrifugal force in a people's movement that demanded that the government prove its intent to fight corruption.
Since September, a series of financial scandals involving politicians have blazed their way into the country's headlines. The growing frustration among middle class India was seamlessly channelled by Mr Hazare and other activists who came together in a campaign titled India Against Corruption.
The combination of Mr Hazare's charisma, credibility and the people's determination to back him forced the government to agree that work would begin straight away on the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, and that non-government representatives would be formally involved.
The activists on the committee include Mr Hazare, Mr Hegde, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, who was declared the co-chair of the committee, at par with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
There is now a raging controversy over whether the Bhushans should resign. They have been accused of multiple counts of corruption by critics and politicians. A CD circulated among the media last week has a purported conversation between Shanti Bhushan, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Amar Singh. A voice resembling Mr Bhushan's offers that a judge can be bribed for four crore rupees and that his son, Prashant, would be able to handle this. The Bhushans have produced lab reports that show the CD is doctored; a forensic lab used by the government says it is not.
The Bhushans have also been questioned about accepting land in Noida from the UP government at heavily discounted rates. Critics point out that given that the Bhushans are fighting several court cases against Mayawati through Public Interest Litigations, at the very least, there was a conflict of interest in their accepting the land from her. In response, the Bhushans have said that if the process of land allocation followed in their case lacks transparency, it should be cancelled.
While Mr Kejriwal who is a member of the drafting committee along with the Bhushans has said there is no question of them resigning, other activists disagree. (Poll: Should Bhushans step down from Lokpal panel). Mr Hazare himself refused to support the Bhushans yesterday, stating that the CD and the land controversy are matters that they need to address on their own. NGO activist Omkar Razdan, who was a prominent participant in Mr Hazare's campaign, says the Bhushans are in danger of hijacking the importance of the Lokpal Bill.
Mr Singh has been critical of Mr Hegde's track record as the Lokayukta (Ombudsman) in Karnataka, suggesting that Mr Hegde has failed in checking corruption within the BJP government there. Mr Hegde said last night that he was "very very hurt" by that remark, prompting Mr Singh to say that he did not mean to target Mr Hedge personally who he described as India's best Lokayukta.
Mr Hegde said this morning that he's not mollified by that explanation. "I don't think I will fall for that or I will accept that statement...this gentleman four-five days back said when asked by the media 'What do you think of Justice Hegde?' and he said, 'I don't know anything about him.' A person who did not have any information about me a couple of days back suddenly makes such a statement about me - it must be part of the conspiracy to defame people who are there in the committee."
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked the state Economic Offence Wing (EOW) to file a final report against Digvijaya Singh by June 30.
This is in connection with the alleged irregularities in the construction of a shopping mall.
A complaint has been lodged with the EOW alleging that the then Digvijaya government in Madhya Pradesh favoured the mall directors using state machinery.
A flurry of allegations of corruption and questions over their credibility have targeted the civil activists on the Lokpal Bill committee, which pairs five ministers with five activists.
It was set up earlier this month after a hunger strike by 72-year-old Gandhian Anna Hazare became the centrifugal force in a people's movement that demanded that the government prove its intent to fight corruption.
Since September, a series of financial scandals involving politicians have blazed their way into the country's headlines. The growing frustration among middle class India was seamlessly channelled by Mr Hazare and other activists who came together in a campaign titled India Against Corruption.
The combination of Mr Hazare's charisma, credibility and the people's determination to back him forced the government to agree that work would begin straight away on the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, and that non-government representatives would be formally involved.
The activists on the committee include Mr Hazare, Mr Hegde, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, who was declared the co-chair of the committee, at par with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
There is now a raging controversy over whether the Bhushans should resign. They have been accused of multiple counts of corruption by critics and politicians. A CD circulated among the media last week has a purported conversation between Shanti Bhushan, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Amar Singh. A voice resembling Mr Bhushan's offers that a judge can be bribed for four crore rupees and that his son, Prashant, would be able to handle this. The Bhushans have produced lab reports that show the CD is doctored; a forensic lab used by the government says it is not.
The Bhushans have also been questioned about accepting land in Noida from the UP government at heavily discounted rates. Critics point out that given that the Bhushans are fighting several court cases against Mayawati through Public Interest Litigations, at the very least, there was a conflict of interest in their accepting the land from her. In response, the Bhushans have said that if the process of land allocation followed in their case lacks transparency, it should be cancelled.
While Mr Kejriwal who is a member of the drafting committee along with the Bhushans has said there is no question of them resigning, other activists disagree. (Poll: Should Bhushans step down from Lokpal panel). Mr Hazare himself refused to support the Bhushans yesterday, stating that the CD and the land controversy are matters that they need to address on their own. NGO activist Omkar Razdan, who was a prominent participant in Mr Hazare's campaign, says the Bhushans are in danger of hijacking the importance of the Lokpal Bill.
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