LOKAYUKTA ROW: MAURYA READY TO GIVE MEETING DETAILS IF ASKED BY SC
LUCKNOW: Leader of opposition Swami Prasad Maurya, who was part of the threemember committee to select the lokayukta, on Sunday said he was ready to tell the Supreme Court about the members’ opinion on the names considered for the anticorruption ombudsman if his version was sought by the apex court. Maurya, along with CM Akhilesh Yadav and Allahabad high court chief justice DY Chandrachud, were members of the panel.
LUCKNOW: Leader of opposition Swami Prasad Maurya, who was part of the three-member committee to select the lokayukta, on Sunday said he was ready to tell the Supreme Court about the members’ opinion on the names considered for the anti-corruption ombudsman if his version was sought by the apex court.
“I will tell the apex court about what transpired at the meeting of the committee convened to select the lokayukta. If the court asks me to put the facts of the meeting before it, I will gladly inform it about the opinion of the members on the names of various candidates,” Maurya said.
Maurya, along with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Allahabad high court chief justice DY Chandrachud, were members of the committee. The BSP leader was reacting to state BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai’s demand that Maurya should break his silence over the issue. “He is a member of the committee and should tell the people what happened in the meeting,” Bajpai had said, adding: “Did the state government misguide the apex court by pushing the name of justice (retd) Virendra Singh? Maurya is aware of the fact and he should make it public. The chief justice has already apprised the governor about the meeting.”
For his part, Maurya also said, “I am not the one who would remain silent on public issues. Earlier, I have drawn the attention of the people as well as government on various issues. The Supreme Court has already deferred the appointment of the lokayukta till next hearing. I have no option but to wait for the court verdict.”
The three-member committee had met on Tuesday and Wednesday but the deliberations remained inconclusive. Then, the Supreme Court exercised its extraordinary power to appoint justice Singh as the new lokayukta. Later, the apex court deferred the swearing-in.