Demand for amendments to Meghalaya Lokayukta Act

SHILLONG: The Campaign for an Independent Lokayukta in Meghalaya has demanded immediate amendment of the Meghalaya Lokayukta Act, 2012, to bring it in line with the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, passed by the Parliament on Wednesday.
In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma here on Friday, Angela Rangad on behalf of the Campaign for an Independent Lokayukta in Meghalaya lamented that the State Government has not shown any active desire to set up a strong and independent Lokayukta in Meghalaya.
Terming the present Act as weak and ineffective, Rangad alleged that the State Government is more interested in protecting the corrupt rather than creating a mechanism to remove the blight of corruption from politics.
She also demanded that a special session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly be convened to amend the Meghalaya Lokayukta Act, 2012, to bring it in line with the central Act.
According to Rangad, amendments should be discussed threadbare in pre-legislative public consultations so that the previous ineffective amendments are not repeated again.
She added that the failure of the Government to pay heed to demand for a stronger Lokayukta Act would force the people of the State to resort to intensified democratic protests.