Lokayukta appointment: UP government to now go by consensus

LUCKNOW: After rounds of confrontation with the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice and Governor Ram Naik over the appointment of Lokayukta, the Akhilesh government has decided to bury the hatchet and select a Lokayukta with consensus. The government has softed its approach after SC reprimanded the government for dragging its feet on the appointment of a new Lokayukta for more than a year.

The state government has decided to drop the amendments and move ahead with existing law for the appointment. The government has convened a meeting of the selection committee comprising the CM, Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya and Chief Justice Allahabad High Court DY Chandrachud to select the new Lokayukta on Tuesday evening. The meeting was underway by the time this report was filed and Justice Virendra Singh and Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza were said to be the top choices.