Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Nov 17: Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) general secretary and State convenor, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan, Shahnawaz Choudhary today said that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti must quit or roll back on the decision of indirect elections of Sarpanches.
Addressing a meeting of newly appointed Block convenors of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan of district Udhampur at DCC office here in present of DCC chief Ashok Gupta, Ex-MLA Krishan Chand Bhagat, NSUI president Neeraj Kundan and others today, Shahnawaz asked the State Chief Minister to roll back on the decision of indirect election of Sarpanches or step down. He said that Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan has decided to oppose the decision of Government to hold indirect elections of Sarpanches which is the murder of democracy at grass-root level.
PCC general secretary while criticizing the programme and policies of present Government said that this `Coalition’ instead of empowering the Panchayati Raj system by incorporating the provisions of 73rd and 74th amendment and to provide security to the Sarpanches, has weakened the Panchayati Raj Act by holding the indirect elections of Sarpanches. He also said that the people of J&K are waiting for the empowerment of Panchayats for decades and in the last elections majority of the participation of people have been seen in all the three regions but due to the ineffective system created now, they are feeling themselves as ineffective because for the development of their Panchayats they have to fully depend on local MLA or MP.
Shahnawaz claimed that in the first phase, he will conduct the tour of all the districts of Jammu province and interact with the Block convenors of Sangathan and further will decide the next course of action.
Pankaj Basotra, general secretary PYC and Provincial convenor of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangthan while lambasting the Govt said that PDP-BJP coalition is not serious about empowering the Panchayats. He said when ever the issue of raising the salary or other increments come in assembly all the MLAs’s passed it unanimously. If the MLAs for their interest irrespective of their party come together so why not the Panches and Sarpanches come together for their rights which is very unfortunate. He appealed all the Sarpanches/ Panches to join hands and launch a united struggle otherwise, they will be left on the mercy of MLAs/ MLCs for development of their Panchayats.
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