The Goa Government should amend the Goa Lokayukta Act in the ensuing session of the Goa Legislative Assembly commencing on March 3rd to revert to Section 3 of the original Goa Lokayukta Act which allowed a retired High Court Judge to be appointed as the Lokayukta.
The current amended provision that only a retired Supreme Court Judge or a retired High Court Chief Justice can be appointed as the Lokayukta was improper. By allowing retired High Court Judges it would give the government a wider choice to select from a right and best suited person as the Lokayukta. The Goa Government should not repeat the earlier experiment in trying to scout for a Yes-man Lokayukta. This time the government should not entrust the Chief Secretary with the task searching the Lokayukta but should request the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and other High Courts to suggest names of appropriate retired High Court Judges who would be ready to take up the challenging job as Lokayukta of Goa. There is an urgent for having a strong and a non-partisan Lokayukta in Goa. A Yes-man toothless Lokayukta will not be able to arrest with an iron hand the rampant corruption and mal administration prevalent in the State. On the appointment of the two State Information Commissioners Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has already handpicked his two persons for those posts and that whole current selection process is a stage managed eyewash. As required by law the selection should have been be free, fair, transparent and not vitiated by political inter meddling with the Goa Government uploading for public scrutiny on the Government website the biodata of all the 46 applicants for the two posts of State Information Commissioners. As the RTI Act mandates that only persons with eminence in public life be appointed as Information Commissioners, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar would have to justify to the people of Goa what eminence the two persons hand-picked by him possess in comparison to the other 44 who had applied for the post. The RTI Act was enacted to ensure transparency and accountability in public life. But Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar by his various acts over the last 23 months had proved himself doing everything possible to scuttle the RTI Act as various acts of omission and commission of this government were being exposed through information obtained under the RTI Act. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372
