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Tribal group locks Latehar district officers, wants panchayat polls scrapped
A group of tribals in Jharkhand’s Latehar have laid siege to the district collectorate for four days now, demanding cancellation of the panchayat polls in the district, which they claim is “unconstitutional,” officials said.
A group of tribals in Jharkhand’s Latehar have laid siege to the district collectorate for four days now, demanding cancellation of the panchayat polls in the district, which they claim is “unconstitutional,” officials said.
The agitators have locked the offices of deputy commissioner, deputy development commissioner and subdivisional officer, bringing to halt all official work.
The four-phase panchayat polls in Jharkhand are to begin on May 14 and filing of nominations is underway.
Bahadur Tana Bhagat, district secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Tana Bhagat Samiti, a tribal sub-group, said they would not leave the premises until they get to speak to either the President or the Governor.
“Latehar is a fifth schedule area and Governor is the custodian of it. Panchayat polls are being conducted here, which is unconstitutional. Here, PESA should be implemented and panchayat polls be cancelled. We will not leave the premises until we get to speak at least to the Governor and get assurance from him on it,” said Bahadur.
PESA, or Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, is aimed at ensuring self-governance through traditional Gram Sabhas for people living in the scheduled areas of India.
The administration led by the deputy commissioner Abu Imran has held several round of talks with the protesters since Tuesday but they have refused to budge.
When contacted, Imran said he would speak later.
Asked by when would the protesters be removed, subdivisional officer Shekhar Kumar said, “There is status quo on the ground”.
