The Maharashtra Cabinet will table the Lokayukta law during the winter session of the state legislature on Monday after it approved the report based on the recommendations of a panel led by Anna Hazare that will bring the chief minister and ministers under its ambit and “complete transparency” in the state.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the decision was taken in the interest of the people of the state. “The draft to prepare the new Lokayukta law was passed by the Cabinet and we will be tabling it before the legislature. For the first time, the chief minister and a council of ministers have been brought under the ambit of Lokayukta,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the new (to be amended) law is important in terms of bringing “complete transparency” in the state. He said the existing Lokayukta law did not include the anti-corruption Act. “So the anti-corruption act has been made part of this act (new law),” he added.
Anna Hazare had been demanding Maharashtra have a law on the lines of Lokpal and a panel led by the social activist was formed by the BJP-Shiv Sena government when it was in power (from 2014-19).
While Anna Hazare had been demanding Maharashtra have a law on the lines of Lokpal, Fadnavis alleged the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which remained in power from November 2019 to June 2022, did not work on it seriously.
“After the new (Eknath Shinde-led) government came to power (in June this year), we expedited the process. The report submitted by the committee was accepted by the government. Recommendations of the panel led by Anna Hazare have been accepted completely,” he said.
The Lokayukta will be either a retired chief justice of a High Court or a Supreme Court (judge). It will also have two more high court judges and two benches.
What is the Maharashtra Lokayukta?
The Maharashtra Lokayukta is an apex statutory functionary independent of the governing political and public administration, created to address the grievances of the people against the government and its administration.
The Lokpal was established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 to inquire and investigate allegations of corruption against public functionaries who fall within the scope and ambit of this Act.
The panel committee for the legislature was set up as per the assurance given by the then Chief Minister Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra in February 2019 when Hazare had sat on a hunger strike demanding a strong Lokayukta Act.
Hazare hoped that the proposed Lokayukta Act will become a model for the Centre like the Right to Information (RTI) Act which was initially enacted in Maharashtra. “The proposed Act would be the first revolutionary measure which will prove to be a strong and effective tool to put brakes on corruption,” Hazare had said, adding that since a Lokpal was appointed at the Centre, a Lokayukta needs to be appointed in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
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