Kerala House passes Lok Ayukta (Amendt.) Bill, Opposition terms it as ‘black day’

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Assembly on Tuesday passed the Kerala Lok Ayukta (Amendment) Bill in the midst of Opposition protests and sloganeering alleging that it was a ‘black day’ in the history of the State Assembly.
Boycotting the proceedings, Opposition leader VD Satheesan said the Congress-led UDF will not witness the killing of the existing anti-corruption mechanism in the State by using the Left Government’s brute majority in the Assembly.
The Opposition leader said the Government introduced the Amendment Bill to take away the enforceable rights of the Lok Ayukta. Hence, the Opposition cannot support any attempt to weaken the anti-corruption agency, he added.
According to the Lok Ayukta Act-1999, the Governor was the authority to take any decision in case of any findings against the Chief Minister. Now, the new Bill empowers the State Legislative Assembly over Lok Ayukta’s judgements against the Chief Minister or the MLAs. (UNI)