Minister hijacking village elections, alleges Sukhpal Singh Khaira

Jalandhar, April 30

Bholath Congress MLA and former Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira today accused Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal of pressuring Kapurthala district administration officials against holdings the election to panch of Raipur Arian village in Nadala block despite two notices having been issued.

No pressure

There is no pressure on the administration. The elections will be held as per rules. Vishesh Sarangal, Kapurthala DC

Accompanied by six village panches of the total nine at a press conference, Khaira said the election to panch was necessitated following the death of Bhupinder Singh, sarpanch, belonging to the Congress.

Khaira claimed the Nadala BDPO first issued a notice for election on April 25, which was attended by six of the nine panches belonging to the Congress, but the official stayed away and the meeting was postponed. The notice was again issued for April 28 and the six panches were in attendance, meeting the quorum, but the BDPO left his office under alleged pressure from the minister.

Khaira cited a latest government notification, wherein the High Court had directed the state government to fill the positions of sarpanches or panches lying vacant in the state. He hit out at the AAP government for treading the path of traditional political culture by misusing authority for petty issues. Minister Dhaliwal could not be contacted for comment.