Tripura government amends Act to appoint Lokayukta

  Agartala, Feb 22: In the absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, the issue of appointment of Lokayukta has been hanging fire in the state since last December, forcing the Left Front government to amend the existing act. According to the Tripura Lokayukta Act, 2008, the Chief Minister, in consultation with the Assembly Speaker and the Leader of Opposition, would advise the Governor to appoint the Lokayukta to deal with complaints of corruption. “The five-year term of Lokayukta Pradip Kumar Sarkar (a former judge of the Gujarat and Gauhati high courts) ended on December 16 last year. In the absence of a recognised opposition leader in the state assembly, the post has been lying vacant since then,” an official of the Law Department said.

He said: “To overcome the situation, a bill was passed on Wednesday in the state assembly, amending the existing act to make provision that leader of the single-largest opposition party in the absence of the desigted opposition leader would be the member of the three-member Lokayukta Selection Committee.”

In the 60-member Tripura Assembly, the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front has 51 members, while the Trimool Congress (TMC) has six members and the Congress three. (IANS)