From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Stating that anti-corruption campaign is not the forte of only Anna Hazare, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday announced that strict laws to fight corruption, including amendments in the existing Lokayukta Act, will be brought about in Assam very soon.
Gogoi said, “The new anti-corruption legislations and the amendments to State Lokayukta Act will be tabled in the state Assembly in the next Budget Session.”
“We are committed to tackle corruption even before Anna Hazare started his campaign and with that in mind, we will make amendments in the present Lokayukta Act in the state to make it more effective,” he said.
The chief minister added, “Bills on citizen’s charter and right to service guarantee will also be brought about by the state government.”
Hitting out at Gandhian Anna Hazare, Gogoi said it was not Hazare who had initiated anti-corruption campaign in India and former deputy prime minister G L Nanda started such campaign years back.
He also raised question about the real motive of the campaign being led by Hazare. “Rather than being an anti-corruption movement, it looks like an oust Congress movement like Navnirman Movement of the past that was directed against Congress,” Gogoi said.
He criticized Hazare for targeting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi in his speeches even though the Prime Minister had offered himself to be under the purview of the proposed Lok Pal Bill.
The chief minister pointed that big business houses as well as NGOs must be brought under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. “Everybody is under impression that it is only the politicians who are corrupt. Nobody talks of business houses who fund everybody including political parties, “ Gogoi said.
Gogoi alleged that Anna’s team members had political ambitions and are using the movement to launch their political careers. “I don’t know if Anna Hazare has any political ambition or not, but the members of the Team Anna sure have political ambition,” Gogoi said.