States »SoutPosted at: Mar 30 2021 7:30PM GO 2 issued to reduce powers of gram sarpanches, alleges Lokesh
Vijayawada, Mar 30 (UNI) Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National General Secretary and MLC Nara Lokesh on Tuesday strongly objected to GO No 2 issued by the Jaganmohan Reddy headed Government in Andhra Pradesh obviously to clip the powers of the elected sarpanches thus reducing them to mere figureheads in the local self-administration.
Mr Lokesh described the GO 2 as antithetical and inconsistent with the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution that vested the sarpanches with special rights and responsibilities. The Jagan Reddy dictatorial action had now thrown Mahatma Gandhi's noble dream of Gram Swaraj into the dustbin.
In a statement here, the TDP leader asked how the YCP Government could reduce the controlling powers of the sarpanches on the Grama Secretariats. By resorting to the latest constitutional violation, Chief Minister Jagan Reddy had caused a huge hurdle in the path of sarpanches to provide good governance and welfare in local bodies. This would go against the spirit of the 73rd Amendment and also against Article 243G of the Constitution.
Mr Lokesh accused the ruling YCP leaders from the local to State levels of trying to rule the panchayats through their party activists who were appointed as Grama Volunteers and Grama Secretariat staff. The ruling party was coming out with unimaginable GOs continuously only to continue its suppression of all sections of the people.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the GO 2, Mr Lokesh asserted that the YCP regime was scheming to detach sarpanches from Grama Secretariats through these became the focal points of panchayat administration. Ever since he became the Chief Minister, Mr Jagan Reddy has been making such non-stop assaults on all forms of democratic and constitutional institutions from the village to the State level.
Mr Lokesh said that the YCP was thinking of retaining total control on the Grama Secretariats through its staff and volunteers who were acting like nothing but the ruling party activists. Transferring administrative powers from sarpanches to the Grama Secretariat staff and volunteers would amount to turning democracy into a farce.
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