New Delhi: Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday demanded the resignation of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in the wake of registration of a case against him by Lokayukta Police, saying such a step would not be taken "without basic homework".
“If this is based on sound preliminary enquiry then they
ought to step aside. Lokayukta Police would not register an
FIR without basic homework. This is why we must have sound and
independent Lokayuktas in all states," she told agency.
Her comments came when asked about the registration of an
FIR against Krishna and two other former Karnataka Chief
Ministers N Dharam Singh and HD Kumaraswamy by Lokayukta
Police on a private complaint alleging that they facilitated
illegal mining during their tenure.
Eleven bureaucrats have also been named in the FIR filed
under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act,
Forest Conservation Act, Forest Act and Minerals and Metals
Regulation and Development Act (MMRDA) and IPC.
The complainant has alleged Krishna, who was the Chief
Minister from October 1999 to May 2004, permitted illegal
mining for pecuniary gains. He has levelled similar charges
against Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy who were at the helm of
affairs in the state from May, 2004 to February 2006 and
February 2006 to Oct 2007 respectively.
PTI
