This Article is From Oct 10, 2011

Lokayukta row: Recall Gujarat Governor, Narendra Modi writes to PM

Lokayukta row: Recall Gujarat Governor, Narendra Modi writes to PM
Ahmedabad: The battle between Gujarat government and Governor over appointment of state's new Lokayukta just heated up. Chief Minister Narendra Modi has written to the Prime Minister, asking him to recall Governor Kamla Beniwal.

Last week, in a snub to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Governor bypassed his government and appointed retired High Court judge RA Mehta as the state's new Lokayukta.

The Modi government had moved court against the appointment.

Uproar over the appointment of a Lokayukta or ombudsman in Gujarat without the consent of the Narendra Modi-led government had even led to repeated adjournments in Parliament on Tuesday.

Outside Parliament, senior BJP leader LK Advani led party MPs from Gujarat in protesting against the appointment of the Lokayukta by the Governor and demanded her removal for "bypassing established norms."

The critical post had been lying vacant for seven years. The Governor reportedly consulted legal experts before choosing Dr Mehta. The BJP has challenged the appointment because Mr Modi and his government were not consulted. The party claims this violates Article 163 of the Constitution which states that the Governor of a state must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

The BJP feels this is a breach of federal principles and that the Governor is acting upon the instructions of the Union government.

Mr Modi had suggested that the Lokayukta be selected by a committee that included three ministers, the Leader of the Opposition Congress party, and the state's Chief Justice. The Governor had rejected that proposal.

In 2003, the last Gujarat Lokayukta SM Soni retired. It took the Modi government three years to approve a replacement suggestion. But three years later, the then Gujarat Governor rejected the suggestion on technical grounds.

Since then the Opposition Congress says it has submitted four suggestions but the BJP government says Opposition's lack of cooperation held up the appointment.

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