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| Panchs are fed with politics, Congress-style | | Empowering Panchayats | | Neha
JAMMU, Jan 5: On December 30, Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Youth Congress (JKPYC) held protest demonstration in front of Deputy Commissioner’s office to highlight its demand seeking implementation of 73rd and 74th constitutional amen-dments that empower the grassroots level institutions, including Panchayats, to address the immediate local issues confronting the people. The JKPYC activists accused the State Government of not adopting these historic constitutional amendments despite the fact that these were adopted and enforced throughout the country long back.
It was not for the first time that PYC held demonstrations in support of their demand. It had held a number of such protest demonstration in the past as well across the state in which some national-level activists of the youth Congress had also participated. It is not only the JKPYC which has been publicly urging the authorities in the state to adopt these amendments in toto and implement the same so that the grassroots level institutions address the immediate issues facing the people. The Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) too has been expressing itself in favour of these amendments. In fact, it has adopted resolution after resolution on these amendments during the past more than five years. Not just this, even all-powerful AICC vice-president and son of AICC Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, had assured the elected panchs and sarpanchs a number of times in Delhi as well as
in Jammu province and Kashmir that he would ask the state government to adopt these amendments. It bears recalling that many panchs and sarpanchs had met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu to seek his support in favour of their demand. Rahul did assure them that he would talk to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and support their cause, but nothing has happened so far. In fact, Rahul Gandhi some four months ago told the agitated panchs and sarpanchs in Srinagar that he had not come to the summer capital to demand adoption of these two amendments - a stand that had disappointed the panchs and sarpanchs.
It is important to note that the National Conference (NC), which has only 28 MLAs in the Legislative Assembly and has been leading the State Government with the support of the Congress party, which has 18 MLAs in the Assembly, has been opposing tooth and nail the demand seeking adoption and implementation of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. It has been saying that the adoption of these central legislations will dilute the state's special status and this is not acceptable to it as the adoption of these amendments has the potential of further alienating Kashmiri Muslims from the national mainstream. It has also been saying that the state has its own Panchayati Raj Act and it would make some changes here and there to
satisfy the demand of the agitating panchs and sarpanchs.
But more than that, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sometimes back surprised everyone in the state by making a startling revelation that a number of Congress ministers and MLAs had approached him and told him not to adopt the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, as they didn't want to share power with panchs and sarpanchs. Interestingly, none so far in the Congress has rebutted the claim of Omar Abdullah, thus suggesting that what the Chief Minister said was not without any basis.
What does all this show? This shows that the Congress is not really committed to what it has been saying for more than five years now.
Remember, the 2008 Congress election manifesto for Jammu & Kashmir had held out a categorical commitment that the Congress, if voted to power, will adopt and implement these constitutional amendments to empower the toothless panchayats and other local-self governing institutions, including municipal corporations, municipalities and district boards. Had it really meant what it promised in 2008, the state government would have adopted and implemented these amendments in letter and spirit long back. The reason: The NC is in the driver's seat only because of the Congress party. The NC-led government would collapse in no time like a house of cards in case the Congress withdraws its support to it. The NC wants to remain in power at any
cost. Had the Congress even once administered a threat to the NC that it would withdraw its support to it in case it didn't do the needful, the NC would have surely fallen in line, as it fell in line after the Congress asserted its authority in Kargil after the election authorities announced results of the election to the Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council. It was the Congress's assertion that helped it capture the Kargil Council this year.
It's no wonder then that the critics of the Congress are accusing it of indulging in double-speak and playing a double-game to hoodwink the panchs and sarpanchs and of pleasing the pro-autonomy NC. As for the general public, it has never ever attached any importance to what the Congress has been saying about these amendments after being convinced that the Congress is only fooling them by making pro-amendments statements. The Congress leadership needs to appreciate what the general public and panchs and sarpanchs think about it and take some definite and concrete steps to prove that it is committed to empowering panchayats and other local-self governing institutions. The Congress leadership must tell the NC that it would withdraw its
support to it in case it fails to do the needful within such and such period. This is the only option left for the Congress to prove its pro-amendments credentials.
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