Congress welcomes High Court verdict on Gujarat Lokayukta

New Delhi, Jan 18 (ANI): The Congress party on Wednesday welcomed the Gujarat High Court decision to uphold the appointment of Justice (retired) RA Mehta as the state Lokayukta.

Congress Spokesperson Rashid Alvi said, " We welcome the Gujarat High Court decision on Lokayukta. The High Court verdict shows the double face of BJP. This shows BJP is not serious about a strong Lokpal."

"The BJP wants strong Lokpal at the Centre but no strong Lokayukta in the states," he added.

Meanwhile, union minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked the Narendra Modi government to accept the verdict with respect.

Sibal said the row over Lokayukta's appointment by the Gujarat Governor had also exposed BJP's double face.

"BJP has two fold policy. There is a lot of difference in BJPs actions. They press for robust Lokpal in Centre and no Lokpal in Gujarat; actually they do not desire to remove corruption," he added.

The decision is a major setback to the Narendra Modi government, which had challenged the appointment of Lokayukta. .

Modi had accused the Governor of acting in a partisan manner and trying to destabilise the state government.

The state government had earlier challenged Governor Kamla Beniwal's decision to appoint Mehta as state's Lokayukta, deeming the move unconstitutional and unilateral.

Mehta was appointed as Lokayukta in August last year by Governor Beniwal. The post was lying vacant since November 2003.

According to the Indian Constitution, the Governor is the constitutional head of the state, appointed by the President on the aid and advice of the central government. (ANI)