Cong to challenge panchayat wards' delimitation in HC

Punjab Congress would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court for legal recourse against the arbitrary delimitation of wards in villages for Panchayat elections and to ensure free and fair poll.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa, addressing workers’ meeting, said that past experience has shown that the ruling SAD was hell bent to demolish democratic institutions and circumvent the election process. “An emergency meeting of the party leaders and legal experts has been called on April 15 at Chandigarh to discuss the issue,” he added.

“Considering the intensity of the matter for the first time in State’s political history, I along with ClP leader Sunil Jakhar, will personally appear in the High Court and contest the petition for legal remedy to ensure free and fair panchayat election. All party MPs and MlAs would also accompany us. The petition will be filed within two days,” he added.

Bajwa described the delimitation of wards by SAD-BJP government as “total subversion of democratic process, aimed at winning panchayat elections by hook or crook”. “Congress party would not allow Akalis to rig the Panchayat elections,” he added.

State party chief said that Congress party would demand from the Court to allow e-filing of nomination papers by candidates. 

He also said that they will demand to set up one counting center at district level under the supervision of PCS officers. He said that isolated counting of votes at village level is not a transparent method. “It would be easy for party leaders to monitor the counting at one place,” he said demanding to hand over certificate to winning candidates of Panchayat, Block Samiti and Zila Partishad on the same day.