‘Parties playing politics over poll issue’
An organisation of former panchayat members on Thursday criticised political parties for jeopardising the local bodies elections scheduled for October and November in Jammu and Kashmir by politicising them.
“These parties are playing politics over this issue. They are not resigning or boycotting the places, where laws are being made but making institutions, which are meant for the welfare of villages, controversial,’’ said All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference president Shafiq Mir.
“Whether National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Congress or the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), the leaders of all these mainstream parties have politicised the panchayat and local bodies elections as they have never been interested in empowering the institutions at the grassroots level.’’
Mir’s statement came a day after the NC threatened to boycott the polls unless the Centre clears its stand on Jammu and Kashmir special status and the attempts to undo it through petitions in the Supreme Court.
PDP, the NC’s archrival, is likely to follow suit while the Congress said it would speak consult the local leadership before taking a call on its participation amid growing anger in the state over the attempts.
A petition challenging the validity of the Constitution’s Article 35A, which prevents outsiders from buying property in Jammu and Kashmir, is pending before the Supreme Court.
Mir dared the NC, PDP and the Congress to ask their members to give up their assembly and Parliament seats if they are serious about the issue.
He said the local bodies’ polls were non-political while underlining that everybody is concerned about the Article 35A. He added the provision is “very important and crucial” for them too but the political parties were using this for their own interests. “The mainstream parties and the Centre have made these elections a big issue and we also need to devise the strategy about this.”
Mir said his organization would decide whether to contest the polls after the mainstream parties clarify their strategy. “We are adopting a wait and watch policy.’’ Separately, a PDP leader said that many leaders and workers of the party were insisting on boycotting the elections as the situation was not feasible for them. Most of the PDP workers are against contesting the polls, he said on condition of anonymity.
SRINAGAR: Leaders of all parties have politicised the panchayat and local bodies polls as they’ve never been interested in empowering the institutions at the grassroots level
SHAFIQ MIR, president, All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference