Congress seeks time to meet Governor on e-tendering

Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh, March 2

The Haryana Congress has sought time to meet the Governor on March 6 to submit a memorandum against the e-tendering process imposed on panchayats and the rising inflation. Party leaders and MLAs will reach to meet the Governor under the leadership of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state president Udai Bhan.

Protest to continue till march 9

• Hundreds of panches and sarpanches, who continued their protest on the second day against e-tendering, have said that they will continue their dharna on the Panchkula-Chandigarh border till March 9
• This was decided after a 25-member delegation of the Haryana Sarpanches Association held a meeting with DIG Om Prakash Narwal in Panchkula

Waiting for CM

The Chief Minister has said he doesn’t have time till March 9. We have made it clear that when the CM has time, he should call us and till then, we will continue to sit on dharna. — Ranbir Gill, Haryana Sarpanches Association President

Hooda, in a statement issued, here today, said the BJP-JJP government was continuously working to suppress the voice of the people and weaken democratic institutions. “The government has given evidence of its undemocratic thinking by first lathicharging farmers, youths, government employees and now the elected panchayat representatives,” he stated.

“By implementing the system of e-tendering, the government wants to keep panches and sarpanches powerless and villages deprived of development. The government wants to establish a new den of corruption by handing over Panchayati Raj to contractors and officials through the e-tendering process. This is why they are opposing this decision, because they are the elected representative and have direct accountability towards the public,” he added.

The Leader of the Opposition said the lathicharge on the sarpanches in Panchkula for raising their voice for their legitimate demands was highly condemnable. The Congress would also raise the issue of price rise before the Governor.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, former Union Minister Selja, speaking in support of the protesting panches and sarpanches, said their financial powers must be restored for the better development of the villages.