Lokayukta got 24 complaints against Cabinet in 3-and-a-half-years of AAP govt: RTI reply

The year 2017 witnessed the office of the Delhi Lokayukta receive the highest number of complaints against the Council of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a decade, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed.

Since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came to power in 2015 till July 31 this year, the Lokayukta received 24 complaints, 11 of them being in 2017, against the Council of Ministers, the August 30 reply to a query by The Hindu showed.

From January 1, 2008, till the end of 2013, which was the last term of the Sheila Dikshit government, 34 complaints against Ministers were received, with 2012 seeing the most of the five years — nine.

Of all the 56 complaints against Ministers from 2008 till July 31, 2018, the Lokayukta had disposed of 47, while nine were still under investigation or pending.

Among the complaints in 2017, one was based on an allegation by former Minister and suspended AAP MLA, Kapil Mishra.

After being removed from the Cabinet in May 2017, Mr. Mishra alleged that he saw Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal take money from Public Works Department, Health and Power Minister Satyendar Jain.

The Chief Minister’s name was dropped from the case earlier this year.

A total of 156 complaints against members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly were received from 2008 till July 31, 2018, the RTI reply stated.

The year 2013 had seen the most such complaints, with 30.

Of the 156 complaints against MLAs, 125 had been disposed of and 31 were being investigated or were pending, the reply read. The Lokayukta also received a total of 311 complaints against officials of the Delhi government from 2008 till July 31 this year, with 2011 seeing the highest number — 66.

Since officials are not covered under the definition of “public functionary” in the Delhi Lokayukta and Uplokayukta Act, 1995, these complaints are usually disposed of when received or sent to the appropriate authority, officials said.

As on July 31, only one complaint out of the 311 was pending, the RTI reply said.

‘Stronger watchdog’

Though the office of the Lokayukta has been in operation since 1997 in Delhi, political parties have raised concerns over its effectiveness. For the AAP, which arose out of the anti-corruption movement and promise of a stronger watchdog in the form of a Jan Lokpal, the Lokayukta has become a “toothless institution”, said spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.

“The Lokayukta is basically toothless. The Jan Lokpal Bill that we had passed and which would have given the Lokpal independent prosecution and investigation powers has been sent back by the Centre. We are waiting for the Supreme Court to give clarity on who has the power over prosecution,” said Mr. Bharadwaj. BJP leader and Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, too, questioned the effectiveness of the Lokayukta.

“My complaint against Sheila Dikshit for misusing funds for advertisements had led to a strong recommendation by the Lokayukta, but the action was rejected by the President in 2013. The Lokayukta has not been able to set an example,” he said. He added that the Congress and then the AAP governments did not have the “political will” to amend the Act to strengthen the Lokayukta.

Year Complaints against Delhi Government officials Complaints against MLAs Complaints against Council of Ministers 2008 16 3 Nil 2009 16 9 6 2010 30 16 3 2011 66 21 6 2012 57 22 9 2013 47 30 7 2014 26 15 1 2015 13 8 4 2016 27 20 7 2017 6 11 11 2018 (till July 31) 7 1 2 Total 311 156 56 Cases disposed of 310 124 47 Cases under investigation/pending 1 31 9

Allegations covered

- Failure to act in accordance with norms of integrity and conduct of public functionaries

- Abuse or misuse of position to obtain any gain or favour or to cause loss or hardship

- Improper or corrupt motives or personal interest in discharge of functions

- Possession of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to known resources of income

Source: RTI reply from Office of Lokayukta dated August 30, 2018