Himachal BJP welcomes HC order on Panchayat elections

Welcoming the verdict of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, the leader of the opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, on Friday said that the state Congress government was trying to postpone the panchayat elections, fearing defeat.

The Congress is carrying the Constitution book throughout the country, pretending to “save the Constitution, but whenever it gets the chance, the party doesn’t hesitate to violate it,” the BJP leader said in a statement issued here.

The statement came after the High Court directed the government to conduct the elections of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and urban local bodies before April 30 this year.

The Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu questioned under which law the orders have been issued when the Disaster Act is enforced in the state.

According to the Constitution of India, panchayat elections should be held in five years, but the Congress government enforced the Disaster Act as an excuse to defer the elections, the former chief minister said and added that even after seven months of monsoon disaster last year, roads are not opened, and water supply schemes have not been restored.

Interestingly, new municipal corporations, councils and committees were made, but no elections were held. The tenure of the mayor was extended from 2.5 to 5 years by an amendment in the law, the former chief minister maintained.

The way the government is acting arbitrarily in the Gram Panchayat, Municipal Corporation, and other local body elections in Himachal Pradesh makes it clear that the government has no regard for any rules, regulations, or the Constitution, the BJP leader said.

Terming Sukhu’s reaction of questioning the HC order citing the enforcement of the Disaster Act in the state as ridiculous, he said that such statements do not befit those who are celebrating with disaster relief funds meant for disaster victims.