PMK files petition in HC over TN civic polls

The Madras High Court today directed its registry to tag a petition filed by PMK challenging the constitutional validity of two amendments by the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply regarding to civic body elections.
The Division Bench comprising Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and M V Muralidharan directed the registry to tag it along with similar petitions filed by DMK.
The matter relates to the petition challenging constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (2nd Amendment) Act 2016 and the Tamil Nadu Panchayat (2nd amendment) Act 2016.
The Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (2nd Amendment) Act 2016 paves way for indirect selection of Mayor, whereas till date it was a direct election by the people to the post of the Mayor.

The Tamil Nadu Panchayat (2nd amendment) Act 2016 paves way for conduct of local body elections on the basis of the census taken in the year 2001 and not on the basis of the fresh census that was taken in the year 2011 on which the recent assembly elections were held.
In his petition, PMK State Deputy General Secretary A Tamilarasu contended that the present amendment was introduced only on the basis of the outcome of the assembly elections by the ruling party, when it apprehended that if no change was brought in the local body elections, the results would be in favour of the opposition party and other parties in various Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations in Tamil Nadu.

Noting that the benefit ensured by the Constitution to reserve seats for the reserved category shall be based on the population of the concerned area, the petitioner submitted that it is necessary and justifiable to adopt the latest census of 2011, instead of 2001.
Stating that the object of the Constitution was to make local bodies perform effectively as vibrant democratic units of self-governance, the petitioner submitted that the amendments to the Acts are depriving people of their rights and compelling to adopt the unchanged delimitation what based the election, which in turn defeats the very object of the Constitution.

The present amendments were made to get over the apprehension or fear of defeat by the ruling party in the local body elections, the petitioner alleged and sought to declare the impugned amendments as unconstitutional, motivated, unreasonable and ultra virus of constitution, he contended.