JK Cong questions CEO on failure to hold polls for vacant panchayat seats

The Congress on Tuesday questioned the chief electoral officer over announcement of elections to the posts of BDC chairperson in Jammu and Kashmir, saying if the condition was conducive for holding polls, then why were 60 per cent of panchayat seats in the valley vacant since ten months.

A notification was on issued on Tuesday for the election of chairpersons of Block Development Councils (BDC) in 310 blocks of Jammu and Kashmir, the first polls in the state after abrogation of its special status on August 5.

Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar, while issuing the notification, said the elections will be held on October 24.

"We want to ask the CEO that if the situation is conducive for BDC elections, why 60 per cent seats of panchayat members, numbering 12,052, are vacant in Kashmir and have not been filled up in the last 10 months," a Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) spokesperson said.

He questioned that if BDC polls can be held, then why were the panchayat elections not held which could have a larger participation of stakeholders.

"The BJP claims to be the champion of the panchayati raj, but in reality it has weakened the system during its rule," he alleged.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party held a protest against the Centre for keeping the opposition leaders under house arrest in the state amid the announcement of BDC elections.

Party activists led by Rajesh Padgotra, the provincial president of JKNPP, staged a demonstration at the Exhibition Ground in Jammu.

The protestors accused the government of "enforcing two set of laws in dealing with political leaders merely to keep the opposition at bay in the BDC elections".

They said that unlike earlier elections held in the state, "the government did not bother to hold an all-party meeting" to seek opinion of recognized political parties for conducting the BDC elections.