Then Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had concealed for a month the resignation submitted by the Goa Lokayukta Justice Sudershan Reddy. This has been revealed in the information obtained from the Vigilance department under the Right to Information Act.
Manohar Parrikar had announced on October 17th 2013 that Justice Sudershan Reddy had resigned but the information obtained now reveals that Justice Reddy had tendered his resignation a month earlier on September 18th.
As per the file notings Justice Sudershan Reddy’s resignation dated 18th September 2013 was sent to the then Goa Governor B.V Wanchoo the same day and on 19th September forwarded to the Chief Secretary who in turn placed it before the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
The records do not show who delivered the resignation letter to the Governor as Justice Sudershan Reddy a day earlier on 17th September left for Hyderabad with all his belongings though stating that he was going on a week’s leave but never returned back. Incidentally, a week earlier he had gone to Hyderabad to drop back his wife.
In his three line resignation letter dated September 18th 2013 Justice Sudershan Reddy stated that he was tendering his resignation on personal grounds.
Interestingly the Director of Information Arvind Budge last month in an affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court at Goa had stated “Lokayukta had to quit for the reasons I would not like to divulge in this affidavit in detail”
We need to strongly condemn former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for having acted contrary to the principles of transparency in governance by keeping the people of Goa in the dark for a month on the resignation of Justice Sudershan Reddy.
The resignation of Justice Sudershan Reddy was pre-planned and a stage managed sham. Justice Sudershan Reddy who was sworn in as Goa Lokayukta on March 16th 2013 had a lavish six month holiday at the tax payer’s expense in Goa, the land of feni, fish and fun.
