GUWAHATI, Aug 22 � Throwing its weight behind the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, the All Assam Lawyers� Association (AALA) today demanded amendment of the State Lokayukta and Uplokayukta Act, 1985, to ensure effective implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the State.
�It is only after the overhaul of the State Lokayukta system is ensured that corruption could be done away with,� senior advocate and president of AALA Niloy Dutta said, adding that the State Lokayukta should be empowered to investigate cases against anyone and everyone irrespective of his or her position and office.
Dutta also demanded that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Lokpal Bill must set sub committees across the State to derive public opinion in the truest sense of the term.
�We want the Prime Minister�s Office and the judiciary to be included in the ambit of Jan Lokpal Bill but the possibility of a separate Lokpal for the judiciary may also be considered,� said Dutta.
The AALA, in support of the Jan Lokpal Bill, will resort to sit-in demonstration in all the Bar Association premises of the State from 11 am to 1 pm on August 26. Moreover, a procession would be carried out all over the State on August 29.
Meanwhile, the AALA has decided to extend a helping hand to the flood-affected people of Dhemaji, Dhakuakhana and Lakhimpur by providing them relief materials both in cash and kind.
�We have the bar members across the State to collect relief materials and send it to the affected people,� Dutta said.