Panaji, Feb 1 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Friday asked for an apology from Justice Santosh Hegde for the former Karnataka lokayukta's criticism of controversial amendments to Goa's Lokayukta law.

Speaking to reporters at the secretariat here, Parrikar also said that he was willing to take Hegde "head on" in a Lokayukta debate.

"He should apologise for his comments," Parrikar said, a day after Hegde told local newspapers that the controversial amendments to the Goa Lokayukta law amounted to "dilution" of the act.

"Why have the Lokayukta at all," Justice Hegde said, adding that steep fines (to the tune of Rs.1 million) for "frivolous" complaints would also act as a deterrent for genuine complainants.

The amendments, which were passed in the state legislative assembly Thursday, sought hiking of penalty and even imprisonment for filing "false and frivolous complaints".

The amendments also allowed declarations of the Lokayukta to lapse if the chief minister's office does not take cognizance of the same in three months.

"I have respect for Hegde, but he should not be speaking to the media like this as a former Supreme Court judge," said Parrikar, who is already under fire from civil society for diluting the public ombudsman law.

Chief Minister of Goa

Dear Mr. Parrikar,

I read with disgust the above which came to my mail box through Yahoo.

I don't know whether to laugh at you or to pity you.

In school we had read the story of a doting mother who observed her son in a school sports March past and remarked astonishingly, "See, my Johnny is the only one marching correctly. All the other boys are out of step" You are acting like Ravana who considered himself right and all his other brothers including Bibhishan wrong when they criticised him for kidnapping Sita.

By the way, your action too is very like Ravana's.

I pity you.

This single action has destroyed all the good will you had built up till now and made the BJP a laughing stock, just like the Congress.

Congratulations!

You and B S Yeddyurappa have done more to revive the fortunes of the Congress than they would have been able to do it themselves