Disappointed hegde to abstain from Lokpal draft

Waternedx

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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BANGALORE: Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hedge expressed disappointment at the Union government's attitude towards the drafting of L..

BANGALORE: Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hedge expressed disappointment at the Union government's attitude towards the drafting of Lokpal Bill and said that he has decided to stay away from the issue.
Sources said that he knew earlier what would transpire with the joint committee on drafting the Lokpal Bill. Once he decided to submit his resignation from the joint committee, the request from Anna Hazare and others made him remain with the committee.Hegde is also in a dilemma on attending a meeting called by civil society office bearers on July 15 at Delhi. He was reportedly frustrated with the politicising of the Lokpal issue. When contacted, Justice Hegde told Express that he is in close contact with the members of the civil society and Anna Hazare. "Now I am very busy on preparing the final report on illegal mining, which is an important task before me. Hence, I will abstain from the Lokpal Bill issue for a while," he added.

Knowing the government's attitude, Justice Hegde decided not to take a single penny of its allowances. He did not use his current office for attending meetings in Delhi. He utilised only the airfair allowance but not the daily allowance of `3,500 and vehicle and food facility. Hegde stayed at Karnataka Bhavan, claiming his visit to be private and paid money for it out of his pocket. One of his officers said that nobody can now pinpoint at him.