BENGALURU: Citizens today seek timely access to information and greater clarity regarding the conduct of those who hold public office. To fulfil those expectations, we need systems that promote openness in practical and measurable ways. It is, therefore, extremely significant that today’s commemoration coincides with the inauguration of a digital portal containing the statements of assets and liabilities of elected representatives across Karnataka, said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday.
Justice Kant was delivering the presidential address at the launch of the portal and and investigation module of the Karnataka Lokayukta by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, after releasing a souvenir following the inauguration of the event “Four Decades of Journey of Karnataka Lokayukta” at the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The CJI said when disclosures of this kind (assets and liabilities of elected representatives) become easily accessible to citizens, transparency moves from promise to practice, becoming part of the everyday grammar of public life.
The Karnataka Lokayukta has become one of the most significant and effective Lokayukta in the country, shaping perceptions about how such mechanisms should function in a democratic system. “I, on my own personal note, feel proud of this institution; that’s how resilient, how loudly it has spread its wings to serve the people of the state of Karnataka.. I am sure that the Lokayuktas will undoubtedly remain an important pillar in promoting fairness, integrity and transparency in governance,” he said.