AJKPC hails Soni's statement on Panchayat Raj bodies in J-K

The apex body of Panchayat members in Jammu and Kashmir today welcomed the comments by Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni that her party was committed to empowering Panchayat Raj Institutions in the state.
"We welcome the pro-panchayat statement by Soni and hope that she will take some concrete steps in this regard," All-Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) Chairman, Shafiq Mir, said here after a meeting with panchayat leaders.
Soni, the Congress in-charge for J-K, who is on her first visit to the state, had said that Congress was committed to empowering Panchayats in the state.
Mir said that though her statement was encouraging, she would have to translate her words into action.

He said that, in 2002 and in 2008, Congress election manifestos had promised that it would implement the 73rd Amendment in the state if it was voted to power.
However, despite the party's having been in power for about 10 years now, that promise remained unrealised, Mir said, adding that they were hopeful that this time, Congress would keep its word about empowering the Panchayat Raj Institutions.