It is imperative that the Goa Government should immediately clarify by telling us what role the newly appointed Lokayukta retired Justice Ambadas Joshi would play given that those controversial amendments to the Goa Lokayukta Act in January this year has rendered the Lokayukta totally totally redundant and absolutely powerless.
The Lokayukta's post is now a mere retirement holiday which Ambadas Joshi who is now 70 will merrily enjoy for three years as the retirement age is 73 with no duties whatsoever to discharge while only further burdening our already debt ridden State Exchequer.
The BJP has selected Ambadas Joshi because of his hardcore RSS links. Inquiries reveal that with his very close connections with the BJP, Ambadas Joshi managed to get his Mumbai based advocate son Abhijeet Joshi appointed from 2014 on the Bombay High Court Panel of Advocates for various government bodies and Undertakings including the State Bank of India.
Ambadas Joshi should have taken the high moral ground and followed in the steps of retired Justice U.V.Bakre who very sensibly declined to be a toothless Goa Lokayukta. The appointment of Ambadas Joshi resembles the manner by which in 2013 Leena Mehendale suddenly surfaced from Maharashtra to be appointed as Goa's Chief Information Commissioner.
It is very dismaying that the Aurangabad based Ambadas Joshi despite knowing well that he had no powers or role as Lokayukta chose to assume charge of the post and that too in the midst of the current pandemic only demonstrating that he was very desperate to have a long holiday in Goa with perks at the cost of the State Exchequer even while the Lokayukta's Chair was now just an ornamental one.
While Goa is immersed in rampant corruption and gross maladministration, it is an irony that we now have Ambadas Joshi here as a powerless Lokayukta on a state sponsored vacation for three long years.
In the given circumstances no worthy retired Judge having any self respect would have accepted the post of Goa Lokayukta, to occupy what is now just a farcical position by way of a powerless Chair only with Pay and Perks but as a lame duck Lokayukta dancing to the tunes of those in Power.
It is a criminal waste of taxpayer's money to the tune of an annual whopping 1.8 crores in further running the Institution of the Goa Lokayukta while serving no meaningful purpose whatsoever with the Lokayukta being toothless stripped of all the powers.
Goa is a preferred tourist destination and Ambadas Joshi who was sworn in as a white elephant Lokayukta this week has craftily chosen to be here as a State Guest for three years where his family and friends from Aurangabad could also have a ball at the cost of the taxpayer.
Aires Rodrigues
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