Advani hopes Karnataka will respect Hedge

NEW DELHI - Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Saturday said he was thankful to Justice Santosh Hegde for agreeing to his request to continue as Lokayukta of Karnataka and hoped the state government would take “full care of his concerns”.

“I have conveyed my deep gratitude to Santosh Hegde for the immediate and warm response he made to my request to continue as Lokayukta of Karnataka, and not press his resignation. I am sure the state government will take full care of his concerns,” Advani said in his blog.

Hegde quit June 23 saying he was frustrated by the Karnataka government’s indifference to fighting corruption and checking illegal mining.

On July 3, he announced withdrawal of his resignation after an appeal by Advani, who assured him that his demands for more powers to curb corruption will be met.

Writing in his blog, Advani recalled Santosh Hegde’s father K.S. Hegde, a former Lok Sabha speaker who he said could have been the Indian president.

Advani said: “The closer I came to Justice Hegde the greater became my respect for him… When the discussion veered to the issue of presidency, I said to (then prime minister) Morarji Bhai Desai that the best name I can think of in terms of erudition, non-partisanship as well as grace for the office of Rashtrapati is that of Justice K.S. Hegde.”

Advani added that N. Sanjiva Reddy was in line and became the president in 1977. K.S. Hegde made speaker.