Ahmedabad: Justice RA Mehta, whose
appointed as Lokayukta was on Wednesday upheld by the Gujarat High
Court, said he had remained "totally indifferent" to the issue
being taken up by political parties.
"No, not at all. I have remained totally indifferent in
all these things," he said when asked if stands taken by
political parties ever bothered him.
Mehta refused comment on the majority decision of the
High Court, saying, "I have not seen the judgement and will
only be able to comment after the final judgement."
Asked about his priorities, Mehta, who is a retired
judge, said, "There are no priorities. Whoever is occupying
that office has to do his duty."
Replying to questions, he said Lokayukta should be there
"everywhere" and that "there is no doubt" about it. "It is a
universal demand," he said.
On if he had received any communication with regard to
his taking over the office, Mehta said, "No. It is too early
to decide".
The Narendra Modi government suffered a setback with the
High Court upholding the appointment of Mehta by the Governor
while dismissing the plea of the state challenging it. The
state government said the decision would be challenged in the
Supreme Court.
Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal had appointed Mehta to the
post of Lokayukta on August 25, last year. The post had been
lying vacant for eight years prior to that.
PTI
