Santosh Hegde widthdraws resignation
Santosh Hegde
Bangalore: Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has withdrawn his resignation after after senior BJP leader L K Advani assured him that the BJP government would “positively consider his demands”.
“Though I had categorically said that I will not reconsider my decision to quit, despite appeals by thousands of people, including Union Minister P Chidambaram, political leaders cutting across party lines and general public, I, however, could not say no to Advani, who is a father-figure to me. My family and I share a cordial and respectful relationship with him,” Justice Hegde told mediapersons at his residence here on Saturday.
Hegde had quit from his post on June 23.
“If Governor H R Bhardwaj gives me time, I will meet him tomorrow (Sunday) to withdraw my resignation,” Hegde added.
However, it is not yet known if the BJP government will set up the Upa Lokayukta besides giving suo motto powers to the Lokayuka, the two main demands of Justice Hegde.
Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, accompanied by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and Law Minister S Sureshkumar, called on Justice Hegde at the latter’s official residence to dissuade him from quitting.
But before their visit to his house, Yeddyurappa, Gadkari and Sureshkumar had made half-a-dozen phone calls to Advani to ensure the success of their persuade-Hegde-mission. Advani too had a talk with Justice Hegde besides writing a letter to the latter.
