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| Coalition misusing official machinery, Says NPP | | Participation of panchayat representatives in LC polls will weaken their cause? | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 27: The NC-Congress coalition has intensified its movement to capture all the four Legislative Council seats for which the election would be held on December 3. The NC-Congress leaders, who have been contesting the forthcoming elections jointly and at places addressing jointly the members of the electorate consisting of about 34000 elected panchs and sarpanchs, are trying their best to woo them so that they vote for the coalition candidates.
It is true that the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Movement (JKPRM) leadership has declared that it would ensure the defeat of the NC-Congress candidates because it considered the ruling coalition anti-people, anti-democratic and anti-panchs and sarpanchs. In fact, it has already started a campaign against the coalition candidates. It is difficult to say what kind of impact its movement would have on the election campaign considering the fact that the entire leadership of the ruling parties as well as others well-entrenched in political establishment, revenue magistracy and other powerful departments are working overtime to ensure the victory of the coalition candidates. They would certainly use all available means to induce panchs and sarpanchs to participate in the electoral exercise and exercise their franchise in favour of coalition candidates. Hence, there is the possibility of many panchs and sarpanchs taking part in the scheduled Legislative Council elections. The charge of the Panthers Party chairman Harsh Dev Singh that the coalition is misusing government machinery needs to be viewed in this context.
What will the fall-out if panchs and sarpanchs take part in the electoral exercise and elect four members to the Legislative Council? The result would be disastrous. The outcome of the election or the victory of the coalition candidates, or for that matter candidates belonging to any political formation which is trying its luck, would only weaken their struggle for empowerment and strengthen anti-democratic forces or strengthen those vehemently opposed to the demand seeking empowerment of panchs and sarpanchs with a view to enabling them to cater to some of the immediate needs of the people at the grass-roots level. The NC and the Congress have left none in any doubt that they will not adopt and implement the 73rd constitutional amendment in the Indian Constitution and that there is consensus on the issue between the coalition partners. In fact, it is basically the Congress which has played the most dubious role by sharing the views of the NC, which has never believed in the concept of devolution of power at the grassroots level. It is the Congress which is squarely responsible for the shabby treatment that is being accorded to the elected panchs and sarpanchs.
The panchs and sarpanchs would do well to think hundred times before exercising their franchise. For, once the election process gets completed, they would not be in a position to achieve the objective because the coalition government will be under no pressure whatsoever.
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