Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 26: Former minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today lauded Governor Administration for preparing the ground to hold the much-overdue Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat polls in the State.
Bhalla stressed on the need to percolate Central funds and development to the grassroots level in the State through installation and empowerment of local self-governments. While municipal polls were last held inJ&K in 2005, Panchayat polls have not been held in the state after 2011. It will help to reach the fruits of development to the people of the state, which was impeded earlier due to vested interests PDP-BJP Govt. In 2016, Panchayat polls were deferred after the killing of Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani triggered a round of violent protests, and the story was repeated in 2017 after the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-poll saw violence and very low turnout.
”It has been the experience that PDP-BJP Govt in J&K did not favour empowerment of local self-governments, and even block Central funding from reaching them. However, with the Governor now in charge, it is the best time to hold Local Bodies elections without the PDP-BJP Government,” Bhalla said.
He said peace and stability could be brought to J&K through an honest, effective and efficient administration. Bhalla said PDP-BJP Coalition Government shied away from its duty to conduct Urban Local Body (ULB) and Panchayat elections in the state even when formation of ULBs were must to empower the people of urban areas.
Bhalla further said that the breakup of the alliance was inevitable and was unsurprising given how the PDP-BJP Coalition Government failed to improve the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley. Spiralling violence, growing local militancy and radicalisation, delayed Panchayat and Local Body elections, inter-regional differences between Jammu and Kashmir, and unsuccessful outreach attempts to the separatist leaders were some of the obvious reasons for this long anticipated breakup, Bhalla added.
Hitting out at ousted PDP-BJP Government for making life of people miserable due to incompetent policies and administrative inexperience, former Minister said that people of State are cursing this insensitive Govt on daily basis for ignoring them completely and making them suffer for everything
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