The President Mr Pranab Mukherjee today said that the institution of Lokayukta is an ally to good governance and not an obstruction to development. Speaking at All India Lokayukta Conference 2012 in New Delhi, Mr Mukherjee advised the Lokayuktas to remember that their duty is not just to indict public functionaries when they are guilty but also to protect them when nothing is found wrong with their conduct and to correct wrong perceptions about them with equal force and earnestness.

He also asked the state governments to facilitate the Lokayuktas in the full implementation of the legislative mandate entrusted upon them and not see them as a hindrance in governance. He said that Lokayuktas must be provided adequate financial and administrative autonomy. He said that presently 19 Lokayuktas have been set up by the State governments and urged the remaining States to establish similar institutions at the earliest.

Mr Mukherjee said, it must be ensured that in the name of checking corruption, vilification campaigns are not carried out to defame or destroy reputations. The President also said that Institutions are the visible pillars of Indian Constitution, and if they crack then the idealism of the Constitution cannot hold.