NEW DELHI: Haryana Chief Devi Lal on May 5 doubted the intention in raising the slogan of panchayats in the country but said was laudable if it was sincere “decentralization” of power.
Addressing the Chief Ministers Devi Lal said in the name of grant more powers to villages, the Cen was only snatching powers of the governments.
Alleging that the Centre was not really interested in the wellbeing. the people in the villages, Devi Lal “the Congress (I) strategy was sim to the one adopted by the British in using village zaildors and white Officials to overawe and exploit and the poor.”
The Central Government has a step further by taking away any of district boards which were the form of panchayats, he said.
Devi Lal expressed surprise at present feverish pitch of panchayat raj activity and said it was due to general election drawn nearer.
Describing as an election stunt the recently announced Jawahar Employment Scheme, Devi Lal alleged that in the past too the Congress I had been using such tactics to hood wink people at the time of elections.
Devi Lal said a grant of Rs | to 2 lakh to each panchayat under the scheme would in no way eliminate unemployment from the villages.
To strengthen democracy, Devi Lal said the Government should ensure that elections to these bodies were held on schedule. An amendment should be made to the existing law to make the holding of panchayat elections on schedule mandatory. He also demanded separate allocations for panchayats by the Centre.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 12, 1989
