WB Lokayukta Bill 2023 passed
kolkata: The West Bengal Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed in the Assembly on Tuesday allowing the State to make necessary changes in the law in order to make it more effective by vesting in the Governor the power to extend the term of office of the Lokayukta for carrying out the provisions of the Act.
Minister in-Charge (Independent) of the Finance Department Chandrima Bhattacharya in the Assembly said that the main purpose behind the amendment is to give special power to the Governor so that he can extend the term of the office of Lokayukta in case of any procedural delay.
Giving some statistics on the floor of the House, Bhattacharya said that before the retired Justice Ashim Kumar Roy was appointed as Lokayukta in 2019, there were around 240 complaints registered with it while around 30 complaints were raised after Roy assumed office.
Refuting the claim of BJP MLA Hiran Chatterjee that the number of complaints in the state was pitiably low because people do not come forward to register their complaints, Bhattacharya said that complaints are less in the state as there is hardly any corruption in the state.
She added that out of 270 complaints most of the cases were resolved. Chatterjee however mentioned in the House that after 2019, around 16 complaints were registered with Lokayukta out of which 11 were disposed of. Chatterjee also termed the move as an attempt by the state government to remove the leader of the opposition from the Lokayukta by vesting power on the Governor. Bhattacharya however refuted his claim and said that giving power to the Governor was the need of the hour so that he can extend the office in case of any procedural delay.
Bhattacharya also alleged that the leader of the opposition skips various important meetings.
State Law minister Moloy Ghatak said that the main purpose of the move is to strengthen the existing law so that people can register complaints against any government officials at Panchayat or Zilla Parishad level. People can also register complaints against the top bureaucrats as well. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyaya said that the opposition MLAs were trying to complicate the situation by wrongly explaining the bill. He added that the Indian Constitution was amended 105 times.
The Lokayukta – selected by a committee that includes the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in respective states – is mandated to investigate allegations of corruption against bureaucrats, public servants and elected public representatives.
