THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hours after the UDF leaders led by Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan handed over a memorandum to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan urging him not to sign the Ordinance by the state government proposing ‘frivolous’ amendments to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999, and instead send it to the President, Law Minister P Rajeeve on Thursday denounced the Congress-led front’s move.
The LDF government had not sought the President’s permission when the Act was amended in 2000, Rajeeve said indicating that the government was in no mood to relent to the Opposition’s pressure on the matter.
“Part 3 of the 2013 Lokpal Act says states are required to implement it. It says Lok Ayukta rules are under the states’ jurisdiction and they have every right to bring changes to it,” he said. Rubbishing the Opposition’s claims, Rajeeve said states can decide how they want their Lok Ayukta to be as it has been stated in the Lokpal Act.
“Rules cannot supersede Constitutional provisions. And the provisions say there is no need to send an amendment ordinance to the President for approval,” he said. The Opposition’s allegation is that the amendments were being brought in hurriedly as complaints against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Higher Education Minister R Bindu are pending before the Lok Ayukta.
“The LDF government has no right to claim that the Lok Ayukta Act passed in the assembly is anti-constitutional. None of the courts have said Section 14 of the Lok Ayukta Act (which is being amended) is anti-constitutional,” said Satheesan. He said in these 23 years, the Lok Ayukta used Section 14 only once, to indict former Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel for nepotism.
Congress leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Congress (Joseph) MLA Mons Joseph, IUML leader P M A Salam, RSP state secretary A A Azeez, CMP state general secretary C P John and Forward Bloc leader G Devarajan were part of the UDF delegation.