Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 27: All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) today requested the Election Authority to hold the proposed elections to Block Development Councils (BDCs) after the complete implementation of 73rd Amendment of Indian Constitution to ensure maximum participation of the people.
“The BDCs polls hold great significance for Panchayati Raj Institutions in J&K as these are conducting for the first time here. The constitution of BDCs will hold no meaning if these are conducted on the pattern of J&K Panchayati Act, 1989 without considering all provisions of 73rd Amendment of Indian Constitution,” Anil Sharma, AJKPC State president told reporters after holding a crucial meeting with elected Panchayat members here.
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“After October 31, J&K will be a Union Territory (UT) and all laws will simultaneously be extended to J&K. The Election Authority should defer proposed BDCs elections for few weeks and hold it as per the provisions of 73rd Amendment so that the maximum participation of the people in these important institutions can be ensured,” Sharma said.
The AJKPC leader, however, described the decision of Election Authority to hold BDCs polls on party basis as “a step in right direction”, saying “it will help in keeping a check on secret use of money and muscle power by politicians in these elections”.
The AJKPC leader also demanded that the reservation to women in BDCs polls should be kept 10 percent due to unavailability of sufficient numbers of women Panchs and Sarpanchs.
“The Election Authority has reserved 33 percent BDCs for women members. We welcome this decision but this reservation should be brought down to 10 percent as one-time exception as the BDCs polls are being held for the first time and our Panchayats don’t have adequate numbers of women Panchayat members,” Sharma said.
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