NEW DELHI: The Union Governments having second thoughts on holding panchayat elections in Punjab in June.
The Centre may ask that they are held simultaneously with the Test of the country under the new Panchayat Raj Act. The Constitutional Amendment Bill giving wide powers to panchayatsis pending before the Lok Sabha and is likely to be adopted during the monsoon session of Parliament Starting in the third week of July.
Earlier the panchayat elections were scheduled to be held in the beginning of the year, but they were postponed because of revision of the electoral rolls. The Punjab Governor has announced that the process of the holding panchayat elections will be initiated in June. The panchayat elections will be held in a phased manner. Initially the elections will be held in only nine districts which are not disturbed.
There is another side of the picture. Since the Congress (I) does not have the requisite twothird majority in the Rajya Sabha and its strength will further reduce after the biennial elections in June, the Bill may fall in the Rajya Sabha delaying the revolutionizing of the panchayati raj system in the country.
Since it is not certain if Parliament will okay the Bill, the possibility of the Punjab Governor not waiting for the passage of the new Bill and go ahead with panchayat elections under the provisions of the existing Act cannot be ruled out.
The demand to postpone the panchayat elections was also made by an Akali, MP Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, He had urged the Government to hold panchyat elections in Punjab along with the rest of the country under the new law. He had made this suggestion at a meeting of the Opposition leaders, convened by the Union Home Minister. Buta Singh, to discuss the communal situation in the country.
Urging the Punjab governor to postpone the panchayat elections, Mr. Ramoowalia said, “The Prime Minister had introduced the 64th Constitution Amendment bill in the Lok Sabha to give more powers to panchayat. Why hurry with holding elections under the Old Act? Buta Singh had assured the member that he would convey his feelings to the Prime Minister.
The holding of panchayat elections in Punjab has been opposed by the Akali Dal as well as the Congress (1). Both the parties have no intention of participating in the election on party lines. But all the political sections in Punjab are unanimous in their view that the Government should hold elections to the local bodies as well as the State Assembly if it wanted to gauge the political climate in the State.
Certain Congress (I) leaders of Punjab, say that the State Administration does not want a popular Government.
“Rampant corruption in the administration and police excesses are on the increase as the bureaucracy is not answerable to anybody. There is deterioration in the administration, If the Government is prepared to take the risk of holding panchayat elections then why not hold elections to the State Assembly. For holding panchayat elections the governor should wait for the enforcement of the new act, the argue.
The Akali leaders, however allege that the Governor wants to hold panchayat elections to create a divide among the Jats in the villages. Several Punjab watchers are of the view that terrorists will capture panchayats as they have already started threatening the prospective candidates from entering into the contest or face dire consequences. These sections say that how was the Congress (I) which has not held its organizational election for over 20 years interested in holding panchayat elections. They describe the whole exercise as a gimmick.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 9, 1989
