http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-10/india/41265732_1_a-mehta-lokayukta-case-two-ngos Narendra Modi government funded NGOs’ proxy war against LokayuktaKapil Dave<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Kapil-Dave.cms>, TNN | Aug 10, 2013 0 inSh
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/No-Doubt-%28musician%29> [image: Narendra Modi government funded NGOs’ proxy war against Lokayukta] A query under the Right to Information has revealed that the Gujarat government paid legal fees of top lawyers hired by Ahmedabad-based National Council of Civil Liberties and Dhrangadhra Prakruti Mandal, Surendranagar, to support the government in the Lokayukta case. GANDHINAGAR: Amid the startling charge by Justice (Retd) R A Mehta that the NarendraModi government spent Rs 45 crore of tax-payers' money to block his appointment as Lokayukta, it now emerges that the government not only spent on its own legal eagles, it also bore huge legal expenses of NGOs who became co-petitioners in Supreme Court. "Forty-five crores of public money is said to have been spent by the Gujarat government in this litigation. Humongously disproportionate figure by any standard," Mehta wrote in his letter to the governor on Wednesday conveying his withdrawal of consent for his appointment as Lokayukta, given the hostility of the state government. A query under the Right to Information has revealed that the government paid legal fees of top lawyers hired by Ahmedabad-based National Council of Civil Liberties and Dhrangadhra Prakruti Mandal, Surendranagar, to support the government in the Lokayukta <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Lokayukta> case. The two NGOs became co-petitioners when the state government moved the SC after losing the battle in the Gujarat high court. "The documents clearly show that it is the Gujarat tax-payers' money which funded <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/funded> the battle fought by the two NGOs," said Ramesh Joshi of Kutch Ladayak Manch, who got the information under RTI from the department of law. Records show that the Gujarat government paid senior counsels Soli Sorabjee<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Soli-Sorabjee>, K K Venugopal, Mihir Thaker and Bina Madhavan<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Madhavan>who were hired by NCCL. However, V K Saxena of NCCL said, "Sorabjee and other lawyers didn't charge us any money because they were fighting for a public cause." Similarly, fees of Sanjay Hegde, Rajiv Dhawan, Amit Panchal and Gopal Subramanium, who were roped in by the Dhrangadhra Prakruti Mandal, were also paid by the government. TOI couldn't contact representatives of the NGO for their comment. Besides, the Gujarat government also hired senior counsels Harish Salve, Mukul Rohatgi, Mahesh Agarwal, Kamal B Trivedi, Prakash Jani and Sangita Vishen. The government hasn't yet disclosed the total payouts to advocates appointed by it and the two NGOs. It has also not disclosed the overall money spent from the state exchequer for fighting the Lokayukta case in Gujarat HC and SC. Talking to TOI, Pradipsinh Jadeja, minister of state for law, claimed that the two NGOs paid their advocates on their own. But when asked about the information provided by his department under RTI, he said, "Let me check first if this is true." Times View The state government should be transparent on the costs incurred to thwart the appointment of Justice R A Mehta as Lokayukta. If the figure of Rs 45 crore is indeed true, there is no doubt<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/No-Doubt-%28musician%29>that the tax-payers would have been happier if the government had spent the same amount to provide the Lokayukta with staff and infrastructure to fight corruption. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
