Justice Santosh Hegde says he was not willing to become Goa Lokayukta

PANAJI: Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde today said he was not willing to be Goa Lokayukta, even if that office was offered to him.

Talking to reporters after attending a private function near here, Hegde replied in negative when asked whether he would like to take up the job.

"No," he said, without elaborating. Yesterday, Hegde had talked about loopholes in the draft Goa Lokayukta Bill, 2011, prepared by the Goa Law Commission.

The bill is likely to be tabled before the Legislative Assembly on October 5, when the winter session would begin.

Interacting with the civil society groups in Goa yesterday, Hegde said that voters should support only those candidates who promise to support the Lokayukta Bill in the state Assembly.

Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, had also said that Goa government should notify Goa Lokayukta Bill, 2003, rather than working on a new bill, which would delay the appointment of Lokayukta in the state by another two years.