NC-led govt undermining democratic institutions: Mufti

"Panchayati Raj is the base of our democratic system and we will not allow this vital institution of democracy to die at any cost," PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said.

Addressing a public meeting held at Lotti in Udhampur district to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 143rd birth annivesary, he alleged the state government was not empowering Panchayats.

Establishment of a vibrant Panchayati Raj system was the dream of Mahatama Gandhi and the PDP was determined to fulfil this, Sayeed said.

The PDP patriarch accused the state government of systematically undermining the democratic institutions in the state.

"We will agitate for strengthening democratic institutions in the state," he said assuring panches and sarpanches that his party would take their struggle to its logical conclusion.

"Polls to urban local bodies, including Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, were scheduled to be held in February 2010 but the government has been postponing these on pretext or the other," he said.