Loksatta party today declared partial victory in its campaign to bring Justice Santosh Hedge back to office as Lokayukta, as the Karnataka government bowed to public pressure in support of Justice Hegde. However, the party cautioned that the battle against corruption in public life is far from over, and even the matter of the Lokayukta himself needs further attention from society and government alike.

Loksatta had last week initiated a 100-day campaign to achieve twin objectives - one, to bring a prominent public servant back to his respected office, and two, to demand that the Lokayukta should be given powers to initiate prosecution suo moto against corrupt officials. Loksatta's campaign received support from thousands of people across the state, and the public event at Bangalore was also widely attended. "Today, the first of these objectives has been met - a clear victory for the party's new politics in Karnataka," said Muralidhar Rao, party Vice-President in the State.

It is noteworthy that the Lokayukta, while withdrawing his resignation, declared that he had received assurances from the government that legislative action to give his office suo mo to powers would be taken up, and that those found guilty of scamming the public exchequer in the mining scams ongoing in the state would be punished. It remains to be seen whether these promises are fulfilled, and the Lokayukta himself has warned that he would once again put in his papers if these were not carried out.

Loksatta Party National President Dr Jayaprakash Narayan spoke with Justice Hegde to congratulate him on his decision to continue in office, and to assure Loksatta?s appreciation for his stance against corruption in public life.

Loksatta calls upon the public to sustain the campaign, so that the necessary changes in law are enacted in a timely manner, and are not merely paper promises. In addition, the party said it would keep the spotlight on corruption by carrying on with its national campaign to get a Lokpal Bill enacted in the Parliament of India. Towards this objective, the party is working on a draft law to be submitted to the Prime Minister in a few months.