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Local body elections after delimitation exercise: Sinha
Addressing a meeting of councilors of the Jammu municipal corporation (MC), Sinha commended them for serving people, fighting the Covid pandemic and ensuring municipal services in their respective areas
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday that the election for urban local bodies would be held after completion of the delimitation exercise for wards and reservation of wards for other backward classes (OBC).
Addressing a meeting of councilors of the Jammu municipal corporation (MC) here, Sinha commended them for serving people, fighting the Covid pandemic and ensuring municipal services in their respective areas.
He said, “the elections for urban local bodies (ULB) would be held after the completion of delimitation exercise of wards and reservation of wards for OBCs”
He shared the efforts of the administration and the Centre government, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, to empower the grassroots democratic setup in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Despite delayed implementation of 73rd and 74th amendments in J&K, the UT administration has ensured basic principles of decentralisation of decision making and development by transferring more departments and works to elected representatives after August 2019,” he said.
He added that ULBs of J&K were being provided with greater financial resources for strong and accountable self-government and to ensure holistic ecosystem for last-mile access to services.
He said MC is a symbol of the aspirations of the citizens in the 21st century.
The five-year term of the councillors of JMC ended on Tuesday. Srinagar MC completed its term on November 5.
Grave injustice to people: Congress
The chief whip of the Congress in Jammu municipal corporation Dwarka Chaudhary on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Sinha to express party’s resentment and lodge a protest over delay in holding MC and other urban local bodies polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
“On behalf of the people, we want to register strong resentment and protest over the delay/ deferment of MC and other municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” read a part of the memorandum.
The Congress called it a “grave injustice with the common people”.
“The assembly is already dissolved for more than five years and the rural panchayats are completing their term after a month. Thus, there shall be no elected democratic institutions left due to non-holding of elections to the overdue assembly elections apart from deferment of municipal and panchayat elections,” it further read.
“Since the main democratic institution of assembly is non-existent, it was incumbent upon the administration to complete the entire process for the municipal elections, in time, and panchayats, as per requirements of law,” it added.
NC, Cong flay BJP for delaying elections
J&K Congress president Vikar Rasool said that BJP had ruined J&K and from last nine years no assembly elections have been held in J&K.
Omar Abdullah said that the BJP was afraid of holding polls in J&K. “The BJP can’t face people of Jammu and Kashmir. Leave assembly elections, now BJP isn’t ready to hold urban local body polls, the tenure of Srinagar municipal corporation and Jammu corporation has ended. The tenure of panchayats is nearing end as well,” he said.
