Congress leader wants HP govt to defer Panchayati Raj Institution polls amid Covid surge

He said the vaccine is expected in the next six months and the government can conduct the elections after it arrives.

Former chief parliamentary secretary and Congress leader Rohit Thakur has urged the Himachal Pradesh government to postpone the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) elections in the state in wake of rapid increase in Covid-19 infections, particularly in Shimla.

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In a statement issued here, Thakur, citing a report of Union health ministry, said Himachal’s seven districts were on the top of the list of most affected 19 districts of the country. “Shimla district has the highest growth rate of 15.3% in Covid cases and things are spiraling out of control,” he said, adding that sub-divisional headquarters Rohru and Rampur besides Sanjauli and Pandali of Kotkhai have been declared as containment zone.

“The corona situation in Theog assembly constituency also remains worrying,” he said, adding that the death rate has also gone up across the state with 208 people succumbing to the virus in last 22 days.

The ex-MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai constituency said the situation in the state’s health institutions was going from bad to worst. “There is a huge shortage of oxygen cylinders. The government should give priority to the health of people over the PRI polls,” he said.

“Amid this situation, there will be nominal participation of people in the polls and it would just be a formality. According to the World Health Organisation, Covid-19 infections are likely to spread more and PRI polls in such a situation would be disastrous,” he said.

Thakur said the vaccine is expected in the next six months and the government can conduct the elections after it arrives. “If there is any constitutional hurdle in deferring the elections, the state government should take up the matter and resolve it before the central government,” he added.