Oppn questions timing of panchayat poll

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 19

The state government decision to hold the much-talked about panchayat elections has triggered a political slugfest in Jammu and Kashmir, with opposition parties and stakeholders making all-out efforts to stall the poll process citing two major reasons — “arbitrary” delimitation of panchayats and unfavourable conditions.

While the Congress has opposed the panchayat polls in April, as proposed by the Election authorities, saying “time is not yet right for the polls”, the principal opposition, National Conference (NC), has objected to “arbitrary” delimitation of panchayat segments and has demanded the constitution of a delimitation commission to delimit panchayats in a “fair and transparent” manner.

A senior official of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, however, said the opposition parties are trying to scuttle the poll process on “flimsy grounds”. “At present, there is nothing extraordinary in the situation. There are numerous instances in the history of J&K where the elections, whether panchayat or Assembly, were conducted in hostile conditions. It can be simply assumed that an attempt is being made to derail the poll process which is not good for the state in general,” the official said.

Sat Sharma, BJP state chief said, “Some political parties are not mentally prepared for these polls and want to derail the entire process. No doubt there is a requirement of proper delimitation of panchayat segments and it should be completed at the earliest.”

He argued that the state had been losing hundreds of crores of rupees annually because of non-existence of panchayats. “We want panchayat elections, which were due in June last year, to be held at the earliest,” the BJP leader said.

In the midst of the controversy, the National Conference has knocked the doors of Raj Bhawan, reiterating its demand for the constitution of an empowered delimitation commission, headed by a retired High Court judge, to reorganise panchayats and wards in Jammu and Kashmir in “a time bound, fair and transparent manner”.

Devender Singh Rana, provincial president, Jammu, National Conference, said, “It is up to the government to decide about the timing of the elections, but being a political party, we are always ready for polls. We want these elections to happen in a fair and transparent manner. We oppose the form of delimitation process being carried out by the government, which is a sham and mockery of the polls.”

“The state government is thrusting panchayat elections on the people. It will cost Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti dearly as the time is not yet right for the polls,” state Congress chief GA Mir said, adding, “The time and weather is not ripe and she (Mehbooba) is going for the elections without preparations. She is under some pressure and the way she is taking steps is against the interests of the people (of the state).”

Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPM MLA, said, “Time is not conducive for holding panchayat elections. Kashmir had gone through tough times last year. At present, there is a little calm but the political leadership, be it from the government or opposition, is yet to reach out to the people at the grass-roots level. Time is required to bridge the trust deficit among the masses.”

The leader said his party was always in the favour of decentralisation of powers at the grass-roots level and building of Panchayati Raj institutions in the state but the recent amendment (indirect election of sarpanches) was aimed at disempowering the Panchayati Raj institutions. “Besides, the proposed delimitation of panchayat segments should not be conducted in a hush-hush manner. This exercise needs to be taken seriously,” Tarigami said.

Shafiq Mir of the All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference believed the state government was using panchayat elections as an “acid test” to gauge the public mood and anger against the government. “The situation is not conducive in the Kashmir valley. The government was playing politics with panchayats. It is pushing us towards the public anger and wants to prepare the ground for parliamentary elections through panchayats by involving them first in the process. If it is confident about the security situation in the state it should first go for parliamentary elections of two seats,” he said.

The five-year term of panchayats expired in July last year. The elections were delayed as the government formation in the state took a long time following the death of former Chief Minister and Mehbooba’s father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7, 2016.