Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 1: Jammu Province People’s Forum (JPPF) has expressed serious concern and anguish over the stray killing of innocent Panchs and Sarpanchs in Kashmir valley, resulting enmass resignations due to threatened life having no security cover.
While offering condolences and expressing sympathy with the bereaved families of the deceased, JPPF members questioned the intensions and veracity of the recent statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the extension of 73rd and 74th Amendments in Central Panchayati Raj Act to the State, which clearly indicates that except for lip sympathy Coalition Government was never interested in the empowerment of Panchayats.
Addressing a meeting of JPPF members, its president Pavitter Singh Bhardwaj, called upon the coalition partners to stop befooling people, shun their petty differences and immediately extend the operation of 73rd and 74th Amendments in Central Panchayat Raj Act to the State or otherwise remove the shortcomings in the J&K Panchayati Raj Act by suitably amending it by incorporating features of the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Central Panchayat Raj Act in the next Assembly session itself.
While extending full support and solidarity with the agitating activists of Youth Congress, he condemned the use of brutal force by police on the otherwise peacefully agitating youth. He further appealed the Government to extend sufficient security cover to the elected Panchs and Sarpanchs to save the grass root level representative character of the democracy. Otherwise the claim of NC Government for successful Panchayat elections shall amount to a hollow exercise conducted simply to grab the Central funds, JPPF president added.
Expressing serious concern over the imposition of cap on subsidized LPG cylinders, Singh criticized the Coalition Government for not bothering to take steps as has been initiated by the other Congress ruled States raising the said cap on subsidized cylinders to nine cylinders a year.
The Coalition Government on the other hand has become a mute spectator to the public harassment by the LPG distributors, who have willfully stopped the home delivery causing great inconvenience to consumers, Singh said, adding the re-verification exercise resumed by the distributors has further put the consumers to great discomfort, who had already faced the same a month earlier.
He appealed the Government to ensure regular supply and home delivery of LPG without any further interruption and act time bound to enhance the cap of subsidized cylinders to nine as has been done by the other Congress ruled States.
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