I don’t need a certificate from Moily: Lokayukta Santosh Hegde

Mangaloretoday News Network

Bangalore, March 21: Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde lashed out at Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily and said that he cared little for a ’certificate’ about his performance from the Minister.

Taking exception to Moily’s adverse comments about his work, the Lokayukta said he would settle for a ‘certificate’ from people of the State. “I do not need a certificate from Moily. It is enough if I get a certificate from the people of Karnataka,” Justice Hegde said.

On Saturday, Moily had said that the Lokayukta had done little so far, apart from making statements. The Minister was referring to the charges levied against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Expressing his displeasure over the Lokayukta’s performance, the Minister had said that Justice Hegde could make Yeddyurappa’s life miserable, if he exercised the vast powers vested with his institution. In Moily’s view, the Lokayukta’s actions were “superficial”.

Justice Hegde, understandably, did not take Moily’s remarks in his stride. “I think he may have forgotten that it was I who argued for him and got him out of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) scam case in a Delhi court, when he was the chief minister without charging a rupee as fee,” Hegde said.

He also expressed ignorance about the context in which the Minister made the remark. “I will come out with full details of my performance on Monday,” he said. Also, he would send the statistics of the work done by the Lokayukta to Moily.

The former Chief Minister of Karnataka, however, asserted that his statement was a “creation of the press”. In a letter written to the Lokayukta, Moily said: “I clearly deny the statement... I have never spelt out such (a) title.”

Meanwhile, Moily said on Sunday that he was answering a question at a press conference in which the supposed statement was made.

When he was asked as to why the Centre was a “mute spectator” to the spate of corruption in Karnataka, he clearly said that there was a Lokayukta in the State.

“It is empowered to deal with the situation. Corruption in the State is unabated and I strongly feel that there is a system and governance failure, which needs to be addressed by institutions created for the purpose,” Moily recalled as saying.

He urged Justice Hegde that such “isolated” statements should not “spoil our relationship”.

“I am sorry... one such misquoted statement should not strain our relationship,” he said.