panchayat-polls-speaker-allows-bjp-s-adjournment-motion

The dispute between the state government and the Election Commission is likely to take centre stage in the early proceedings of the winter session.

 

On the first day of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha’s winter session, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania approved an adjournment motion brought by BJP MLAs Randhir Sharma, Surinder Shouri and Rakesh Jamwal. They asked for the Question Hour to be suspended so the House could urgently discuss the alleged delay in elections of the panchayat and urban local bodies.

 

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said the government was ready for a “healthy, fact-based discussion”. He insisted that the opposition was trying to run away from debate on the issue.

 

Opening the discussion, Sharma accused the Sukhu government of going against public interest by trying to defer the elections even though the State Election Commission was prepared to conduct them on time.

 

He alleged that the government’s decisions had created a pointless confrontation with the Commission.

 

Due to the continued uncertainty over the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) polls, the Cabinet on Monday approved the reorganisation of panchayats. The BJP claimed that this move was timed to delay the election process. They pointed out that this came even as the State Election Commission on November 17 invoked a key clause of the Model Code of Conduct, 2020, and issued a notification freezing any changes in the structure, classification or boundaries of panchayats and municipalities.

 

He urged that the government immediately announce the schedule for the postponed polls. He said the delay amounted to an “insult to the Constitution.”

He argued that using the Disaster Management Act to push back the polls was “unconstitutional” and questioned the reasoning behind it.

 

“If children can go to school, why can’t their parents go to polling booths to cast their votes?” he asked.

 

The standoff between the state government and the Election Commission is expected to be a major point of debate in the early days of the winter session.