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| PM failed to keep promise of empowering basic democracies: Prof Gupta | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, June 10: Hinting towards early elections and empowerment of basic democracies, leader of BJP legislators party, Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta has regretted that during his recent visit to Kashmir, Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh looked forgetting his earlier promise for extension of 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Indian Constitution to the state and strengthen Panchayati Raj concept as also to have genuinely elected civic bodies for Urban areas by granting powers to them like in other parts of the country. Prof. Gupta said that in Jammu and Kashmir by taking undue advantage of so-called special status granted under obnoxious Article 370, people are being denied their democratic rights and basic democracies including Panchayats, local bodies and cooperative bodies, have been turned into a mockery by Congress and its allay National Conference. Unlike other parts of the country, elections to these bodies are not being held. These bodies have not been empowered, he added and pointed out that while in the rest of country after independence there have been civic elections over a dozen times and since 1992, after 73rd and 74th Amendments, these bodies have been considerably empowered but in Jammu and Kashmir these elections were never held in time, so much so during all these years Panchayat and Local Bodies elections could be held only four times and that too, in a hush-hush manner. Gupta recalled that during his visit to state on April 13, 2007, Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh had publically promised for extension of 73rd and 74th Amendment to this state also. It is quite pitiable that the Prime Minister has not only failed to keep up his words but this time he did not talk even about the empowering of the basic democracies because NC coalition partner is opposed to extension of any Indian laws in Jammu and Kashmir although they always looked quite eager to get more and more Indian money on plea of being a part of country. Prof. Gupta reminded that in January last year the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, after assuming the reins of power had loudly promised to hold the elections to Panchayats and the local bodies "soon after the Lok Sabha polls" which were completed over a year ago but these elections were not held and they appear reluctant even to talk about empowerment of these democracies. He said there are amazing reports that the elections to Panchayats and local bodies are not being held as the two coalition partners Congress and NC have not been able to reach any understanding that whether these elections should be fought jointly or separately. Hence, the democratic process has been put under the carpet. Nothing can be more deplorable than this situation for which both the Congress and National Conference would have to be answerable to the people in the long run, he maintained.
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