ACB: govt. comes under acidulous attack

BJP, JD(S) stage dharna demanding withdrawal of decision

The State government’s decision to create the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) came under severe criticism from the Opposition parties in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Members of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) staged a dharna in the House urging the government to withdraw the ACB since it would weaken the Karnataka Lokayukta, which is regarded as a model for the country.

As soon as the House met, Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar initiated a debate on the ACB and said the agency was created to hush up cases and complaints against the Chief Minister, Ministers, their supporters, and officials. He alleged that the government was trying to run the anti-corruption bodies “as its puppets.”

Mr. Shettar said, “It is not Anti-Corruption Bureau; it is Corruption Protection Bureau.” The government has reduced the anti-corruption watchdog to a mere “paper tiger” by taking away powers being exercised by the Lokayukta police under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988, he alleged.

Accusing the government of “murdering” the Lokayukta institution, Mr. Shettar said the ACB would be answerable to the Chief Minister. Moreover, the Vigilance Advisory Board would comprise IAS officers, police officials and experts or “private members” close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Mr. Shettar and K.G. Bopaiah (BJP) alleged that “the ACB will be used as a tool for vendetta politics.” The creation of ACB was against the spirit of the Supreme Court judgment. Moreover, the ACB would now take over corruption cases being probed by the Lokayukta, Mr. Bopaiah said.

The leaders claimed that the ACB would snatch a part of the police wing from the anti-corruption body. This is because the government has decided to give 300-plus staff, headed by the Additional Director-General of Police, to the ACB and this would weaken the Lokayukta, they said.

Y.S.V. Datta (JD-S) questioned the intentions of the ACB and its timing and said the new agency could have been established after consultations with Floor leaders.

Suresh Kumar (BJP) described the creation of ACB as a retrograde step and accused Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra of trying to confuse people over the issue.

The ACB, headed by a police officer and reporting to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, would not be able to register cases against politicians and senior officers, they said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Jayachandra defended the decision and said the government has not attempted to curtail powers of the Lokayukta.