Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 14: Accusing the Jammu and Kashmir Government of conspiring against the elected Panchayat members and to undermine the autonomy of Panchayati Raj Institutes in the State, All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference has warned the State Government not to destabilize constitutional institutions like Panchayats which are the roots of democracy in the country and in the State.
Anil Sharma, general secretary while addressing the press conference along with other senior leaders including Vimla Devi, president Women Wing, Kulbushan Khajuria, provincial president Jammu, Gautam Singh Jamwal, provincial secretary, Jammu, members of the AJKPC executive committee Alam Chaudhary, Raj Kumar and Raj Mohammad Chandel alleged that the State Government and particularly the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar are trying to create a wedge between the legislatures and the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
These funds are provided by the Union Government exclusively for the development of Panchayats and must be spent only after the assent of the Gram Sabha’s ”
AJKPC leader also questioned the intention of the State Government to allow 89 MLA’s to overrule and undermine 33,000 elected Panchayat members and said that this is not only insult to the elected Panchs and Sarpanchs but also illegal and against the constitutional values which calls for separation of powers between different institutions.
Kulbushan Khajuria said that the State Government in order to hide its failure on all fronts is now attempting an unconstitutional way to please the MLA’s to garner support in its favour but elected Panchs, Sarpanchs won’t allow them to do so. Vimla Devi, the president of the Women Wing has warned the State Government to clear its stand on the issue at an earliest.
AJKPC leaders also asked the opposition parties to come forward and clear their position on this important issue where the State Government is invading the autonomy of the grass root level democratic institutions.
Other Panchayat members who were present during the press conference included Sandeep Singh, Jugal Mahajan, Jeevan Sharma, Vijay Sharma, Puran Chand, Ashok Bhagat, Munshi Ram, Yash Pal Singh Charak and S Saudagar Singh.
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