Gujarat Lokayukta appointment rocks Parliament

Tempers ran high especially in the Lok Sabha where Congress tried to counter the attack by raising the acquittal of all 12 accused in the murder case of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya.

It was trouble from the word go in the Lok Sabha which was adjourned till 1200 hours after BJP members created ruckus demanding suspension of Question Hour for taking up the issue.

The contention of the Opposition was that the Governor`s action was violative of the federal character of the country.

"We are going to approach the President seeking recall of the Governor," BJP veteran L K Advani said amid frequent interruptions by a section of Congress members from Gujarat who had been finding fault with the state government.

Raising the matter, Advani said while the Constitution provided that the Governor would act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, it was violated in case of Gujarat as the Governor appointed the Lokayukta without consulting the Chief Minister.

"Therefore, it is a fit case to be taken up by the House.

Parliament can take note of it. We will raise the matter with the President. We will seek recall (of Governor)", he said.

Due to uproar, the Lok Sabha failed to transact any business as it was adjourned, first till noon, then till 2 PM, then 3 pm and ultimately for the day.

While Rajya Sabha took up the Question Hour, it witnessed repeated adjournments since Zero Hour and was then finally adjourned for the day.

It was a similar story in the Rajya Sabha where Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley alleged that "this constitutional crisis has been created at the behest of those in power in Delhi... This Governor should not stay in office even for a minute."

BJP members alleged that the appointment was a breach of federal principles and accused the Governor of acting at the behest of the UPA government at the Centre. The Gujarat Governor had appointed R A Mehta as Lokayukta without consulting the Narendra Modi government, they said.

In the Upper House, Jaitley contended that the Governor had notified the appointment of Lokayukta "without the aid and advice" of the Council of Ministers in the state.

Congress members from Gujarat raked up the issue of the murder of senior BJP leader Haren Pandya in the wake of the Gujarat High Court acquitting all the accused. Pandya, a former state Home Minister, was shot dead on March 26, 2003.

The Congress members waved photographs of Pandya and indulged in heated exchanges with their BJP counterparts, who were showing placards like `Stop the Murder of Democracy in Gujarat` and `Raj Bhavan in Gujarat has become Congress Bhavan`.

Countering the BJP in Lok Sabha, Jagdish Thakor (Cong) accused the Modi government of "catching the innocent and not the guilty" and alleged that law and order had completely failed in Gujarat.

"Haren Pandya was brutally murdered. 60 bullets were pumped into him and the real killers are roaming around scot-free", Thakor said referring to the acquittal of all the accused in the case.

Earlier, when the House met for the day, BJP members created uproar over the issue, forcing its adjournment till noon. .