CHANDIGARH, SEPT 27: Throwing norms out of the window has been Om Prakash Chautala's favourite pastime. Ever since he became the Chief Minister, he has brazenly played to the gallery, announcing schemes, left, right and centre. But what beats them all is the unprecedented manner in which he has repealed the Haryana Lokayukta Act of 1997 and got rid of the Lokpal, Justice I.P. Vasishth.Opposition parties and legal circles are outraged at an unusual ordinance promulgated by Governor Mahabir Prasad following which Justice Vasishth was asked to pack his bags.He had done nothing to incur the wrath of Chautala during his nine-month-long stint - leave alone indicting any leader of the ruling or Opposition parties, the Lokayukta had not even received a serious complaint against any politician.The only apparent reason: Vasishth, who was a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court, had been appointed by Bansi Lal, the immediate predecessor of Chautala, on January 5. Chautala, who was then the leader ofOpposition, had opposed the appointment, raising objections in a memorandum to Governor Prasad.While Chautala's critics say that the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was not very comfortable with a watchdog appointed by their political opponent, Vasishth has maintained complete silence on the issue.Chautala cites lacunae in the Act and the expert advice of legal luminaries as the reason. ``There is no political motive,'' he says. Not many agree. Says former Advocate General Hawa Singh Hooda: ``The real reason for their decision to repeal the Lokayukta Act is quite clear. They just wanted to push Vasishth out.''If there were any infirmities in the Act, the government should have taken steps to amend it instead of repealing it, he added.The same sentiments are echoed by a former chairman of a board, who is waging a legal battle against the State Government for allegedly giving him marching orders last year after he acted against some erring firms. ``It is absolutely unfair to strike down an Actthrough an ordinance. The government should have waited for the committee to suggest suitable changes and made amendments. But maybe they were in a hurry to get rid of Vasishth,'' he said.The issue has given ammunition to the Opposition parties, which have launched a scathing attack against the ruling INLD for setting a ``wrong precedent.'' Former chief minister Bansi Lal has lashed out at Chautala for repealing the Act through an ordinance, urging the State Government to continue the Act. ``If the authorities feel that there are some deficiencies, they are can amend the Act. There was no need to repeal it,'' he said.Haryana Congress president Bhupinder Singh Hooda has described the decision as ``undemocratic, unethical and authoritarian'', alleging that Chautala had shown his utter disregard for the august institution of Legislature by summarily repealing the Act without adopting the democratic method of getting the approval of the two-thirds of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.''However, the authoritiesdeny the charge, pointing out that the Government has constituted an experts' committee headed by Justice (retd) G S Chahal, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to suggest suitable provisions to make the institution of Lokayukta sound. In all likelihood, a new Lokayukta Act will be in place in the next few months, with a ``watchdog'' handpicked by the ruling party.
