Gujarat Lokayukta: Govt, BJP look to ease standoff

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The BJP leadership and senior figures in the government are in touch and the exchange has narrowed the gap between the two sides over Gujarat governor Kamla Beniwal's controversial decision to name a retired judge as Lokayukta, bypassing chief minister Narendra Modi.
BJP has vehemently protested the appointment, arguing that the governor has violated the Constitution by ignoring the chief minister and also alleging that the new Lokayukta is known to be an anti-Modi campaigner. 


While BJP's blockade of Parliament on Friday morning and its call on President Pratibha Patil drew retaliatory fire from the government with senior ministers Pawan Bansal and Salman Khurshid criticizing the main opposition for preventing the passage of important legislation, efforts to sort out the Gujarat knot are also underway.  
Sources said the government saw some merit in the argument that Beniwal acted in haste even if it will not acknowledge that the Modi government was a victim of a political conspiracy. A careful reading of the Gujarat law shows that procedures were stretched in the high court making the Lokayukta recommendation to the governor and Beniwal not seeking the state government's opinion. 


With action against Modi linked to Congress's credentials as a "secular" force, resolving the Lokayukta tangle is not easy. But with the perception growing that the governor overstepped her authority and the government keen on BJP's cooperation on key legislation, senior ministers do not favour confrontation. 


"We most humbly urge upon your excellency to intervene in the matter and redeem the Constitution and prevent the assault on the federal character of our polity for which it is imperative that the governor who has failed to discharge her duties in a bipartisan manner be immediately recalled," the BJP said in a memorandum submitted to Patil.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gujarat-Lokayukta-Govt-BJP-look-to-ease-standoff/articleshow/9843233.cms