A group of activists belonging to voluntary organisations and Tamil outfits, on Tuesday staged a demonstration in front of the Head Post Office here calling upon the Puducherry government to comply with the Supreme Court direction and hold elections to the local bodies immediately.
The Supreme Court had cautioned the government of serious consequences if elections were not held within the stipulated time. The elections, which were due in 2011, had not been held for seven years.
Logu Ayappan, president of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, said the Congress and the previous AINRC regime had failed to hold local body elections after their tenure ended in 2011. The inaction of the authorities amounted to depriving the citizens of rights towards grass-roots democratic functioning through self-governance.
The protesters said the administration was duty-bound to hold panchayat and municipal elections every five years. The government should expedite the process to conduct civic body elections to provide effective service to the public, especially in rural areas, they added.