Imposition of ‘black law’ on rural people unacceptable: AJKPC

AJKPC to mobilize people for state-wide agitation; Govt making efforts to crush democracy at grass-roots level: Anil Sharma

JAMMU, 01/July/2016: All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) on Friday declared that it would mobilize the people and launch a state-wide agitation against the state government’s move to weaken the Panchayati Raj system and crush democracy at the grass-roots level in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The ‘Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2016’, which was passed by the legislative assembly on June 30, is a black law which will snatch the democratic rights to the people to elect their representatives at the grassroots level directly. The state government has cleared its intentions of weakening the Panchayati Raj System in J&K,” Anil Sharma, state president AJKPC said.

He was addressing the local people of Dansal and Nagrota blocks who held a strong demonstration against the state government’s ill-advised move to snatch their rights of electing Sarpanches of their own choice.

“We are left with no option but start a vigorous state-wide agitation against the state government which has tried to dismantle the well-established Panchayati Raj system which has been strengthened in J&K only after the sacrifices of security personnel, rural people and Panchayat members,” Sharma said.

He said the AJKPC has asked its members to approach the people for a mass agitation at state-level to defeat the PDP-BJP government’s illogical move which will only crush the democracy at the grass-roots level.  

The AJKPC leader said the Amended Bill was totally against the spirit of the 73^rd Amendment of Indian Constitution for which they had been fighting for the last many years.

“The move of state government is fraught with serious ramifications as it would encourage the money and muscle power in Panchayat elections. Political parties would easily win over the elected Panches and get their relatives, family members and favourites elected as Sarpanches, leaving deserving and genuine Panchayat members at the receiving end,” Sharma said.

He said the rural populace and all stakeholders would strongly oppose the proposition which would deprive them of the benefits of democratic decentralization.

“We appeal to the government to shun its ill-intention and not impose any black law on the people as it will prove suicidal for it and create anarchy in the state,” he warned.