Chandigarh Headlines

Lokayukta Bill adopted by Haryana
The Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday adopted the Lokayukta Bill to replace the one that had been abrogated, with Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala facing allegations of curbing the powers of the watchdog. The powers of the Lokayukta to take suo motu cognisance of corruption charges have been withdrawn and the Chief Minister has been designated the quot;competent authorityquot; in place of the Governor to decide on charges against a public servant barring himself, of course substantiated by the Lokayukta. What8217;s more, the Lokayukta will now inquire into only such allegations against a public servant as have been referred to him by the government.

Bihar Governor sacks Minister
Bihar Governor Suraj Bhan on Tuesday dismissed state Horticulture, Weights and Measures Minister Rakesh Chaudhary for being 8220;underage,8221; three days before his term as Minister would have ended. The move immediately set Suraj Bhan, who is the officiating Governor, once again on a collision course with Rabri Devi8217;s government.

States agree to uniform ST rate
The Centre on Tuesday succeeded in bringing states closer to the reforms programme with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha getting them to agree to implement a host of reform-oriented measures, the most crucial being the states agreeing to implement uniform floor sales tax rates.