Odisha government to take call on Lokayukta's working members
BHUBANESWAR: As Odisha Lokayukta continues to function as a headless and toothless entity, all eyes are on the state government to take a call on the previous selection committee’s decision on the chairperson and members.
In March, the selection committee, headed by the then chief minister Naveen Patnaik held a meeting and finalised three names for the posts of Lokayukta chairperson, one judicial and another non-judicial member basing on the recommendations of the search committee.
The Odisha Lokayukta Act 2014 mandates the selection committee to make appointments basing on the recommendations of a search committee.The selection panel, as per the legislation, constitutes chief minister as the chair with the Speaker of the Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and an eminent personality nominated by the state government as other members.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the previous government had gone ahead with the names but as the model code of conduct (MCC) came into force due to the general elections, the General Administration (GA) department forwarded the file to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its approval. The ECI reportedly did not reply and the matter is still with the GA department, it added.
“The current government can simply send the file to Raj Bhavan and notify it after getting approval of the Governor. Since the government is yet to take a call, it has led to speculations that it may revisit the entire procedure again,” said sources.
Can the government do it afresh? Sources say the selection committee is a statutory panel and its decision should be accepted irrespective of a dispensation change.
However, another view is that the government may take a plea to reject the names on the grounds that the then Leader of the Opposition was not present in the selection committee meeting and secondly, the file was never sent to the Governor for his approval back then.
Since March, the anti-corruption ombudsman is without a chairperson and two members which has paralysed its function. It is operating with only one member, Dr Rajendra Prasad Sharma who is currently also its acting chairperson. The bench’s proceedings of the ombudsman are halted since April 4 as it requires a minimum of two members to function.