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| Has New Delhi finally decided to disband Congress in J&K? | | Panchayat Polls | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 10: NC has established that it is in full command and that it considers the state unit of the Congress party and Congress ministers in his government as non-entities. The manner in which the Omar Abdullah Cabinet took decision on Panchayat elections should leave none in any doubt that the powers-that-be at the Centre and Central Congress leadership are with the Chief Minister, thus lowering the position of the JKPCC leadership in the eyes of the people, particularly the people of Jammu province. It has rejected outright the Congress' months-old demand that elections to the panchayats should be held only after adopting 73rd Amendment in the Indian Constitution. 73rd Amendment is designed to empower people at the grassroots level so that they could manage some affairs in a meaningful manner without any interference from the government and legislators and so that the funds received from the Centre could be made optimum use of.
There were reports that some top-ranking state Congress leaders had met with AICC president and Union Home Minister and urged them to ask the Chief Minister to hold elections to the panchayats in the spirit in which 73rd Amendment was conceived, adopted and implemented across the country, barring Jammu and Kashmir. They had reportedly met with them just on the eve of the Cabinet meeting, which was to take place on Wednesday morning. But neither the AICC president nor the Home Minister endorsed their view and, instead, emphasized the need to hold panchayat elections as early as possible. That those who matter in New Delhi were in complete accord with the NC Chief Minister as far as the stand of his government on 73rd Amendment was concerned was not a secret. One should simply note what happened during the meeting of the coordination committee as well as during the meeting of the six-member Cabinet Committee, which was constituted to sort out the differences between the two coalition partners, to draw conclusion.
It needs to be noted that the JKPCC was from day one in favour of holding elections to the panchayats as per what lays embodied in the 73rd Amendment. However, it was on December 28, 2010 that the JKPCC had hardened its position and stated in unambiguous terms that it would not allow the NC-led government to hold elections as per the old system. That day, the Congress had organized a rally at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, and the occasion was the closing of the 125th year of Congress Foundation Celebrations.
Addressing the impressive rally, one of the senior Congress leaders had said, "there should not be any compromise on the inclusion of 73rd amendment of Indian Constitution in J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989…We have been talking about panchayat elections since long but those who had been demanding autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir should also support insertion of 73rd amendment of Indian Constitution in the state Panchayati Raj Act so that the panchayats are fully empowered. Why don't they demand more autonomy for Panchayats? Why are they afraid of giving more powers to Panchayats? It was the dream of the former Prime Minister, late Rajiv Gandhi, to fully empower the Panchayats."
He had suggested that the "panchayat elections could be delayed till the introduction of 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution in state Panchayat Raj Act" and went to the extent of saying that "alliance means equal share and representation to all partners so that issues are resolved amicably and without any confrontation."
Now that the elections would be held under the old system, which is patently undemocratic or which doesn't empower the people at the grassroots level at all, and that the Congress ministers are party to the decision would only give an opportunity to the parties like the BJP and JKNPP to criticise the Congress party and unleash a propaganda in order to tarnish the party's image and tell the people that the Congress is a party to a decision that would convert the so-called elected panchayats into a meaningless sham. It appears New Delhi has decided to disband the Congress in J&K. |
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