Maharashtra: New law to bring CM, ministers within ambit of Lokayukta

Even as the Opposition tried to put on a show of strength on the eve of the Winter Session of the state legislature by boycotting the CMrsquos tea party the state government came up with a draft bill to bring the CM and cabinet under the jurisdiction of the Lokayukta The bill to be passed in the session will allow the Lokayukta to direct the Anticorruption Bureau to file cases against the CM and cabinet members and investigate corruption charges against themHowever deputy CM and home minister Devendra Fadnavis said the application of the new law with retrospective effect will be a matter of interpretation ldquoThe new law is not for framing or rescuing anyonerdquo he said to a question whether the previous CMs could also be probed under the new law which has been drafted as per the recommendations of a committee headed by antigraft activist Anna HazareldquoThe Hazare panel was formed when our government was in power in 20142019 and it submitted a report but the new government of Uddhav Thackeray did not draft and table the lawrdquo said Fadnavis at a media conference after the tea party and cabinet meeting on Sunday He said ldquoThe Lokayukta can direct the ACB to act against the CM and ministers without seeking a government nodrdquoFadnavis who spoke before the CM lambasted Opposition leader Ajit Pawar for raising the Vidarbha backlog issue ldquoAll of us know who created and increased Vidarbharsquos backlog We will submit the relevant data to prove it in the sessionrdquo he addedlsquoWonrsquot make state a LavasarsquoCM Eknath Shinde said his government did not want to make another Lavasamdasha controversial hill township that had put the Pawar family in the dock ldquoAbout the charges that we are a khoke government paid for making the government with the BJP I will make a statement in the houserdquo he said in an apparent jibe at Ajit PawarThe CM and his deputy also responded to the Oppositionrsquos other allegations over their leaders MLAs and governorrsquos remarks against revered personalities and lack of financial assistance for the farmersAlso read Enact Lokayukta law or step down from power Anna Hazare tells Maharashtra governmentOppn wants 3week sessionWhile boycotting the CMrsquos customary tea party the Opposition demanded that the session be extended to three weeks Shinde said a resolution over the border dispute with Karnataka will also be tabled in the sessionResponding to the Oppositionrsquos demand Shinde said the government was ready to hold it for four weeks Fadnavis said it was good to know that the people who hardly preferred a weeklong session in Nagpur when they were in power and avoided holding it in the name of the pandemic were asking for a longer versionThe initial session programme has been set up till December 29 with a provision to extend it further The second capital could not host the session in the past two years because of the pandemic The agreement signed during Vidarbharsquos merger with the state of Maharashtra mandates a prolonged session once a year The thencapital of the Central Provinces and Berar has all infrastructure like Vidhan Bhavan and MLA hostel ministerial cottages the governorrsquos house for holding the sessionldquoAt least three weeks are needed to do justice to the state and Vidarbharsquos issues because the city could not have a session in the past two years No good work has been done in the past six months because this government is a failurerdquo said Pawar at a joint media conference of the Opposition in NagpurPawar raised a demand for providing farmers with financial assistance for damaged crops apart from issues like derogatory remarks against revered personalities and the border dispute with Karnataka The same issues along with the demand for Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyarirsquos resignation are expected to rock both housesPawar assured the government of the Oppositionrsquos cooperation in matters of public good ldquoHowever the governmentrsquos failure has made us boycott the CMrsquos tea party We have given the CM a long letter containing our demandsrdquo he addedPawar said the Opposition will seek answers from the government for remaining a mute spectator while a proposed investment was taken away to another state ldquoThe investment could have generated jobs for people in Vidarbha and the rest of Maharashtra We want to know why the CM did not lodge a protest with the PMrdquo he said