Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 13: Congress has taken strong exception to the roster of reservation for DDC chairpersons announced by the Government terming it arbitrary and sole criteria of pick and choose adopted by the Government with an aim to favour some members of the DDC and to deprive others of the right to contest for the post of chairpersons.
JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma questioned the roster for women reservation for DDC chairperson from the district starting from number three on alphabetical order, and said that it had to be from number one in alphabetical order like in BDCs, Panchayats as well as in the municipal bodies where it was serial number one, four, seven and so on, in the first instance.
He said that Panchayat Raj Act, as amended in 2014, provided for reservation of 1/3rd seats to be reserved for women including women belonging to SC and ST, and since it is first time that such a reservation is being provided for DDC chairpersons, the same has to be started from serial no one. In the next round after next election to the district bodies, the roaster point shall move further.
How the Government has arbitrarily started the reservation roster from serial number three, six, nine and so on, he questioned and raised the significant point of law, alleging it attempt to favour some like minded candidates by the Government.
Sharma said that the reservation roster should have been declared prior to elections of DDC members, since there was no scope of manipulation but now DDC members are already elected and known, this roster would favour some and deprive others from a valuable right.
The party urged the Lt Governor to intervene and immediately review the roster formula and check the illegality being committed at the behest of some influential candidates, which will be great injustice to the system. It also sought a clarification with regards to the quota of women in the ST category, as one third of seats in the category should go to women in category also, in the event of three seats for STs, one has to go to women in that category.
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