Srinagar April 24, On the 25th year of 73rd, 74th Amendment of Panchyat Raj Act implemented in the Country, Congress today blamed both State and Centre Govts for undermining the authority of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the Country and State to get benefitted politically.
Congress also blamed State Govt for purposefully halting the empowerment of people through PRIs with the fear of losing power, although Congress Party has significantly worked out to incorporate various clauses of 73rd & 74thAmendment of Panchayat Raj system into State’s Panchayati Raj Act inorder to empower people fully at the grass roots level, but the Govt of the day with the ill intentions to undermine PRIs did not take appropriate measures to strengthen the PRIs citing certain unfounded reasons, from time to time.
Addressing the gathering of Senior Party Workers at Khanabal today, the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President G.A. Mir lashed out at PDP BJP Coalition for eroding the authority of Panchayats to get politically benefited, as that, the incorporation of 73rd 74thAmendment into the State Panchayat Raj act directly benefitting, besides empowering the people fully at the grass roots has not gone well with the Coalition with the fear of losing power, for the fact, the PDP BJP have lost the ground miserably in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the Govt is hell bent upon to abolish and change the three-tier panchayat system of PRIs in the State aiming to elect their party representatives as Sarpanch’s and Panchs without going through the normal course as prescribed under the Panchayat Raj Act, which is anti-people and a futile process on the part of Govt, besides badly affecting the functioning of Panchayat Raj Institutions in the State.
He said instead of empowering people the Govt is disempowering them under the garb of bringing new laws in the Panchayat Raj System for personal benefit, Congress Party being the main architect of Panchayat Raj System in the Country will continue to work for strengthening democratic Institutions in the State to ensure benefits to people at grass roots level.
Mentioning that PDP BJP coalition, which is full of contradiction were responsible for the erosion of democratic institutions saying that the matter of the fact is they do not want to strengthen the people through these Institutions of public importance. Panchayati Raj is a system of governance in which gram panchayat are the basic units of administration, having three level village, block and district and these three levels shall have to be maintained by all means inorder to strengthen and safeguard these Institutions benefitting people directly at grass roots level, from political meddling, he added.
He said PDP BJP in the State and Centre Govt can no longer befool people by riasing hollow slogans and political exploitation, as that, people have realized that whatever they say or do, they do it for personal, political benefit besides benefitting their blue-eyed persons, besides serving their dirty political ends under the garb of empowering people.
Speaking on the occasion Vice President Mohd Anwar Bhat, MLA Gulzar Ahmad Wani, General Secretary Hilal Ahmad Shah castigated both State and Centre Govt for failing to come up to the expectations of the people, saying that rather than strengthening people at grass roots level the Govt is tactfully eroding the PRIs and other democratic Institutions of the State.
They also blamed PDP BJP for exploiting people to serve their vested interests.
Among other who addressed the meeting included Manzoor Ahmad Ganai, Irfan Ahmad Kullar Mohd Iqbal Mir, Mohd Iqbal Ahanger and others(KNO)