The Government seems to be suffering from ‘Lokayukta Phobia’ as is evident from the current move to dilute the powers of the People’s Court of Justice. This fear of Lokayukta stems from the repeated castigation of the government by the previous Lokayukta, PK Mishra, whose upright stand against corruption, was a continuous threat to the absolute corruption and mismanagement that’s so rampant in this Government.
The exasperation of the Lokayukta at the heightened levels of uncontrollable corruption was evident from the remark that “Only God Can Save Goa”. Purposeful delays in adhering to deadlines by procrastinating amendments and investigations ordered by Lokayukta through Anti-Corruption Bureau and blatant refusal to acknowledge the authority of Lokayukta had already pushed Democracy to its lowest point. The retirement of PK Mishra was a shamefully welcome relief to the Government which was left with an open field to take corruption to higher levels without fearing the checks from Lokayukta.
In the absence of a Lokayukta’s sentinel eyes Goa is witnessing a governance where principles of Righteousness, Democracy and Accountability go for a toss, replaced by Opportunism, Mismanagement and Corruption!
It’s an absolute certainty that the current trend of brutal police action to suppress democratic protests would have not have gone well with the Lokayukta and the government would have been taken to task but sadly, we don’t have a Lokayukta nor is the government keen on appointing one as it would mean a challenge to it. This purposeful delay in appointing a Lokayukta has turned another shameful page for Goa Government which clearly doesn’t believe in Accountability to its People!
The institution of Lokayukta is the last hope for the common man who’s deprived of justice by manipulative governments such as the one extant in Goa. The absence of such a responsive democratic authority is a flagrant violation of the democratic principles of the Republic of India.
Trying to dilute the independent powers of the Lokayukta and bring it under aegis of political governance is a deplorable attempt to weaken and manipulate the institution of Lokayukta. This devious attempt to make Lokayukta accountable to Ministerial and Administrational entities would defeat the very purpose of Lokayukta and should be vehemently opposed together by all democratic forces.
With the CM and Government in an Election Mode, it’s quite natural of them to resent the presence of a new Lokayukta, especially when the predecessor had already cast serious aspirations on the unbridled corruption and Politician-Criminal nexus of this Government.
When a State government is repeatedly taken to task by the Justice driven Institution of Lokayukta, it speaks volumes about the credibility of the dispensation. And when this is followed by a purposefully unholy delay in appointing such an authority, it exposes the levels of Corruption of this government.
