Govt oppn spar over antigraft ombudsman

  • | Thursday | 6th December, 2018

“These issues should be raised before the ombudsman,” he added.Seconding the claims, state Congress chief Pritam Singh said, “It was alleged that there were irregularities in the project during the Congress tenure. “If the state government has done nothing wrong, why is it fearing the ombudsman? The truth will be out soon.”Deputy leader of opposition Ranikhet Karan Mahra targeted the BJP over the sexual assault allegations against its leader. They returned to their seats only after speaker Prem Chand Agarwal assured them of holding a discussion on the issue.The opposition leaders claimed that the ruling party was shying away from the anti-graft body as it was involved in acts of corruption. The government has put someone in the jail (in reference to the recently arrested news channel CEO).

Dehradun: Putting the TS Rawat government in the dock over the appointment of an anti-corruption ombudsman Lokayukta ) in the state, a heated debate broke out between the opposition and ruling party lawmakers in the assembly on Thursday with the former claiming that the saffron party was reluctant to pass the bill as it was mired in graft.Led by leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh, Congress lawmakers even entered the well of the house raising slogans supporting the appointment of the ombudsman. They returned to their seats only after speaker Prem Chand Agarwal assured them of holding a discussion on the issue.The opposition leaders claimed that the ruling party was shying away from the anti-graft body as it was involved in acts of corruption. They also accused the state government of purposely delaying action in this regard.Addressing the assembly, the leader of opposition pointed out how the bill was stuck after it was sent to the select committee. “Though the select committee returned the bill to the house, not a single meeting has been called to discuss it even after a year,” said Hridayesh, who is also a member of the committee. “If the state government has done nothing wrong, why is it fearing the ombudsman? A retired judge is usually appointed as the Lokayukta. In the wake of the several cases of corruption, we seek the passing of the bill at the earliest,” she added.Talking to mediapersons after the session, Hridayesh said, “We have evidence against the family members and officers connected to several ruling party leaders. The government has put someone in the jail (in reference to the recently arrested news channel CEO). I am not saying that he is right or wrong but no one should be harassed like this.” On being asked whether the Congress would make the evidence public, she said that it would be done by the person who collected it. “We just have a copy of the material. The truth will be out soon.”Deputy leader of opposition Ranikhet Karan Mahra targeted the BJP over the sexual assault allegations against its leader. He also questioned the delay in ordering a CBI probe into the NH-74 case. “These issues should be raised before the ombudsman,” he added.Seconding the claims, state Congress chief Pritam Singh said, “It was alleged that there were irregularities in the project during the Congress tenure. Yet we welcomed the demand for CBI probe and extended all support. The ruling party should explain the circumstances under which such an investigation is being delayed.”On the arrest of the news channel CEO, he added, “The state government should reveal what was found from his house.”Responding to the Congress lawmakers’ allegations, minister Prakash Pant said, “The BJP government has always been serious about introducing a strong anti-corruption ombudsman. That’s why it introduced the bill in the assembly in 2017. However, the opposition has done nothing to this end.”

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