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Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose sworn in as the first Lokpal of India

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Pinaki Ghose

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was administered the oath of office as the country’s first Lokpal by President Ram Nath Kovind today (Saturday, March 23).

The oath was administered at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a communique issued by the President’s office said.

Justice PC Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, was named the country’s first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman on March 19, Tuesday. This came over five years after the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act received the President’s nod on Jan 1, 2014. The appointment was made after the Narendra Modi government – which rode to power on the back of a massive anti-corruption movement but had been dragging its feet on the matter ever since – was faced with a contempt action by the Supreme Court.

A high-level selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, the panel’s “eminent jurist member”, cleared Justice Ghose’ name at its meeting on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi were present on the occasion.

Former Chief Justices of different high courts – Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari – besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi were appointed as judicial members in the Lokpal.

Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam are the Lokpal’s non-judicial members.

Justice Ghose, 66, was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in March 2013 and retired in May 2017. He was serving as the member of the National Human Rights Commission when his name was announced for the post of Lokpal chairperson. Justice Ghose

The Lokpal and the Lokayukta Act, which envisages appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.

According to the rules, there is provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members.

Not less than 50 per cent of the members of the Lokpal shall be from amongst the persons belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women, the rules say.

Upon selection, the chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till they attain 70 years of age.

The salary and allowances of the chairman will be the same as that of the Chief Justice of India.

The members will be paid salary and same allowances as that of a judge of the Supreme Court.

Setting up the Lokpal panel is just the first step. It has to set up its various wings.

It will have an “Inquiry Wing, headed by the Director of Inquiry, for the purpose of conducting preliminary inquiry into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988”.

It will also have a “Prosecution Wing, headed by the Director of Prosecution, for the purpose of prosecution of public servants in relation to any complaint by the Lokpal under this Act”.

 

Public servants under Lokpal purview

The Lokpal has powers to look into corruption charges against a wide range of public servants — from the Prime Minister, ministers and MPs, to groups A, B, C and D employees of the central government.

Prime Minister: In case of a complaint filed against the Prime Minister, the Act says, “Lokpal shall inquire or cause an inquiry to be conducted into any matter involved in, or arising from, or connected with, any allegation of corruption made in a complaint”.

However, certain conditions will apply.

The Act does not allow a Lokpal inquiry if the allegation against the Prime Minister relates to international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space.

Also, complaints against the Prime Minister are not to be probed unless the full Lokpal bench considers the initiation of an inquiry and at least two-thirds of the members approve it.

Such an inquiry against the Prime Minister (if conducted) is to be held in camera and if the Lokpal comes to the conclusion that the complaint deserves to be dismissed, the records of the inquiry are not to be published or made available to anyone.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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BJP calls Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation announcement a PR stunt, says he wants his wife as CM

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

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The BJP on Sunday called the announcement of resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the next two or three days a PR stunt saying his decision is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita the CM.

BJP national spokesperson Shezad Poonwalla claimed that Kejriwal is enacting the resignation drama because the court did not acquit him in the excise policy scam case and instead granted him a conditional bail, which turned him into a ceremonial minister from the chief minister.

The AAP national convenor on Sunday announced that he will he resign as the Delhi CM in next two days and would demand early polls in Delhi. Kejriwal vowed not to sit in CM’s chair till people give him a certificate of honesty.

In a scathing attack, Poonwalla alleged that the AAP national convenor’s announcement is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal the Chief Minister. “Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD on how to make a virtue out of necessity,” he added.

While addressing party workers in Delhi today, Kejriwal said he would hold a meeting of AAP MLAs in the next couple of days and a party leader would take over as chief minister.

Hitting out at the Delhi Chief Minister, Poonwalla said, “He has taken two days’ time because his entire plan is to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal chief minister of Delhi in his place.”

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, people ensured the defeat of the AAP and the Congress in all seven seats despite the Kejriwal-led party’s ‘jail ka badla vote campaign’, he added.

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In Jharkhand, PM Modi says development of tribals, poor, youth, women is Centre’s priority

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted the central government’s commitment to the development of tribals, poor, Dalits, women, and youths, highlighting the launch of several schemes aimed at benefiting these groups.

He expressed optimism about Jharkhand’s rapid growth through the implementation of these projects, noting that the state, which had been lagging in development, is now set to progress.

While virtually addressing the audience gathered at Tatanagar for the inauguration of Vande Bharat trains and multiple initiatives, the Prime Minister acknowledged the impact of the bad weather which prevented his arrival in Tatanagar by apologizing for not being able to reach the location.

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

Modi highlighted the increased investment by the Centre for the development of Jharkhand, citing an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore for railway infrastructure development, which marked a 16-fold increase compared to the budget of the past 10 years.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Jharkhand has achieved 100% electrification of its railway network and mentioned the transformation of over 50 railway stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana.

Additionally, six Vande Bharat trains for Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh were virtually flagged off by the Prime Minister at Ranchi, with the presence of Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi, Sanjay Seth, and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at the Tatanagar station.

Meanwhile, Congress slammed PM Modi and said, “Why are people of Jamshedpur still facing the problem of poor connectivity?” Despite being an industrial hub, Jamshedpur suffers from poor transport connectivity, it added.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the number of trains running to major cities like Bhagalpur, Bengaluru and Delhi is not adequate. The city had a functional airport till 2016 but despite joining the UDAN scheme in 2018, the plan for a new airport did not materialise, he added.

“An MoU was signed between the Jharkhand government and the Airports Authority of India in January 2019 to build the Dhalbhumgarh airport by December 2022. This will give a good boost to MSMEs in Adityapur, including major players in the industrial sector like Tata. When the work did not happen by the December 2022 deadline, the BJP’s own MPs were forced to raise the issue in Parliament,” he charged.

On February 27, 2023, the Union Civil Aviation Minister responded and confirmed that the project had been abandoned, Ramesh said. “Now, after a lot of hard work, environmental clearances seem to be coming. Why did the central government ignore such a vital infrastructure in Jharkhand? What happened to “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”?” he asked.

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After Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia leaves it to people to decide on his honesty

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

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After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Sunday asserted that he will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister only if the public approves his honesty.

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

“I have also decided that I will go to the public court along with Arvind Kejriwal ji and ask whether the public considers me honest or not,” Sisodia said in his post on X.

In a major move on Sunday, Kejriwal announced that he will resign as the Delhi Chief Minister in the next two or three days and asserted that he won’t hold the position of CM, until the people of Delhi declare him honest.

Joining AAP supremo in his honesty test, Sisodia said that he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education. “For 10 years, I worked honestly as Delhi’s Education Minister and built schools and new universities,” Sisodia said.

As the Education Minister of Delhi, Sisodia said, he worked with the mantra that India cannot become a developed nation without providing the best education in government schools.

The result of ten years of hard work is visible that today even in the government schools of Delhi, children are studying brilliantly and topping exams like IIT, JEE, NEET, the senior AAP leader said.

After being in jail for 17 months in the money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam, Sisodia said that despite being honest attempts were made to prove him dishonest by making false allegations against him under petty politics.

“After two years of legal process, now even the country’s top court has told me to go and do my work. But I will not sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister right now”, he said.

The AAP leader said that he did not join politics for the greed of chairs and posts, instead, he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education.

“Elections are to be held in three to four months. Only if the public approves my honesty, I will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister and work for education,” AAP leader Sisodia said.

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