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Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said while the BJP shouts for Lokpal from the rooftops in Delhi, it not only keeps the Lokayukta position in its state vacant for nine long years but also further "delays" it by challenging the joint nomination for it made by high functionaries like Gujarat Governor and state Chief Justice.
Reacting to the Gujarat High Court upholding the appointment of Lokayukta by the Governor, Singhvi told PTI, "This is yet another judicial confirmation of Modi`s hypocrisy and double standards of BJP...The High Court has rightly rebuffed such stalling and obstructionist tactics."
"BJP has always believed that what is applicable in Delhi should not apply in Gujarat and what is okay in Gujarat is bad for Delhi," he said.
Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal had appointed Retired Justice R A Mehta on the post of Lokayukta on August 25 last year. The post was lying vacant for eight years prior to that.
The Gujarat government, led by Modi, had gone all out to oppose the appointment of Lokayukta by the Governor for "bypassing the state government".
On October 11, a division bench of Gujarat High Court had given a split verdict on the appointment of Lokayukta by the Governor. While Justice Kureshi had upheld the decision of Governor, Justice Gokani had quashed the warrant of appoint issued by the Governor terming it unconstitutional.
Justice V M Sahai, who was given the task of hearing the petition challenging the appointment of Lokayukta following the split verdict by the division bench, said, "I could not agree with Justice Sonia Gokani of the division bench on the points of difference, which were referred to me."
He, however, said that, "I concur with the views of my brother judge Akil Kureshi....Hence, the government petition is dismissed".
AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh targeted Anna Hazare over his "silence" on alleged corruption in Narendra Modi-ruled state after the Gujarat High Court verdict on Lokayukta.
"We are happy that Lokayukta is coming to Gujarat after 11 years. But we are also surprised that Anna fails to see corruption in Gujarat. Anna had praised Narendra Modi. Now everything is becoming clear. Modi, who is the hero of BJP, himself wants to cover up corruption and hence did not allow the setting up of a Lokayukta in the state," Singh said
Singh, who is currently in Uttar Pradesh, said the decision was just the beginning of the "shocks" that Modi will be getting.
He chose the occasion to repeat his allegation that Anna, Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar are working at the behest of BJP and RSS.
"They fail to see corruption in the BJP-ruled states. They see it only in Congress-ruled ones," he said. He also attacked Anna for praising Ramdev.
"Anna Hazare has now given certificate to Ramdev that he is a very gentle and honest person. He has given this certificate to a person against whom the Enforcement Directorate has given a notice and CBI investigation is on.
And this person is honest (in his eyes)," Singh said. He said that Team Anna, which talks of fighting corruption, has not talked about "corruption" in Uttar Pradesh during Mayawati`s rule.
