Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) representing Sarpanches and Panches of all the three divisions of the State has demanded suspension of Assembly elections in the state for some time as the situation for conducting these elections is not conducive.
In a press statement issued here, Anil Sharma, state president of the AJKPC, has appealed to the Chief Election Commissioner of India to withhold the Assembly elections till the time situation at grassroots level stabilizes.
The AJKPC leader has also questioned the over-enthusiasm of most of the political parties demanding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislature, saying where was their enthusiasm at the time of Panchayat and Municipal polls held last year.
Sharma came down heavily on Kashmir-based parties advocating simultaneous elections for the reason that these parties boycotted Panchayat elections in the state citing law-and-order situation.
“While there is no change in the ground realities and now these parties are quite amusingly ready to contest assembly elections. With continuous ceasefire violations from across the border in the state, there cannot be free and fair elections till the time border belts are peaceful,” Sharma said
The AJKPC leader felt that unless and until, the Panchayats are fully empowered and elections to Block and District Level bodies are held, there should be no Assembly polls in the State.
“Installation of new assembly would seriously hamper the empowerment of rural masses as most of the political powers in the state are not in favour of political decentralization to the grass root level,” he said.
Sharma warned that any attempt to force Assembly elections in the State would mean undermining the recently held Panchayat elections in the state. “Such a situation would not be acceptable to the masses and lead to further alienation of people. The Government should first go for full empowerment of Panchayats by holding block and district level elections to constitute three-tier Panchayati Raj system in the State,” he said.
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