UP memorial fiasco: BSP hits back; questions Lokayukta’s legal status
22 May 2013 5:01 PM GMT
Hitting out at Uttar Pradesh’s Lokayukta, former BSP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, questioned the legal status of Justice (retd) N.K. Mehrotra saying his tenure is under scrutiny and Supreme Court would hear the case on 4 July.
Siddiqui, who was PWD Minister in the previous regime, was indicted by Lokayukta in the memorial scam. ‘The Supreme Court has been moved over extension in tenure of Lokayukta of UP. The legality in this extension has been challenged. The Supreme Court has served notices to the government and the Lokayukta regarding this,’ Siddiqui told reporters in Jaunpur on Tuesday.
‘Only the Apex Court will now decide whether the appointment of the Lokayukta is justified or not,’ he said adding, the court has fixed 4 July as the next hearing date. The BSP has been against the extended tenure of the Lokayukta from the start and had opposed the law relating to its extension that was brought in the UP Assembly, Siddique added.
The BSP leader further said that he was not surprised by the report of the Lokayukta, which is politically motivated.
Chiding the ruling Samajwadi Party government for 23 incidents of communal violence in its stint so far, Mr Siddique claimed that 96 Muslims and 13 Hindus lost their lives in these violent incidents. The UP Lokayukta, Justice (retd) Mehrotra had recommended prosecution and lodging of FIR against 19 people, including two former ministers of the Mayawati government and some senior officials for siphonning off public funds to the tune of Rs 1410.50 crores in the construction of Memorials,Parks, Statues in Lucknow and Noida.
Siddiqui, who was PWD Minister in the previous regime, was indicted by Lokayukta in the memorial scam. ‘The Supreme Court has been moved over extension in tenure of Lokayukta of UP. The legality in this extension has been challenged. The Supreme Court has served notices to the government and the Lokayukta regarding this,’ Siddiqui told reporters in Jaunpur on Tuesday.
‘Only the Apex Court will now decide whether the appointment of the Lokayukta is justified or not,’ he said adding, the court has fixed 4 July as the next hearing date. The BSP has been against the extended tenure of the Lokayukta from the start and had opposed the law relating to its extension that was brought in the UP Assembly, Siddique added.
The BSP leader further said that he was not surprised by the report of the Lokayukta, which is politically motivated.
Chiding the ruling Samajwadi Party government for 23 incidents of communal violence in its stint so far, Mr Siddique claimed that 96 Muslims and 13 Hindus lost their lives in these violent incidents. The UP Lokayukta, Justice (retd) Mehrotra had recommended prosecution and lodging of FIR against 19 people, including two former ministers of the Mayawati government and some senior officials for siphonning off public funds to the tune of Rs 1410.50 crores in the construction of Memorials,Parks, Statues in Lucknow and Noida.
Next Story
