`Revenue officers
are openly suggesting the names of BJP sympathisers
for unanimous choices'
GANDHINAGAR: With elections announced for 10,000
village panchayats in Gujarat, Opposition parties
and a number of voluntary organisations are
up in arms against the Narendra Modi government's
alleged move to install BJP supporters as panchayat
presidents in the name of "samras"
(unanimity).
While the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly,
Arjun Modhvadia, alleged misuse of the official
machinery to "lure or force" intending
contestants to withdraw in favour of the "pro-BJP"
candidates, the Panchayat Elections Vigilance
Committee, formed by over 70 non-government
organisations , said it was exploring various
ways, including seeking legal remedy, to prevent
the government from "denying the basic
democratic rights to the people."
The "samras" idea was mooted by the
Chief Minister during the last panchayat elections
in December, 2001, to avoid what he claimed
groupism and disunity among the villagers caused
by acrimonious contests. Though the village
panchayat elections had never been contested
in Gujarat on political party symbols, the elections
had invariably divided the villages on political
lines.
The Modi Gvernment declared an additional government
grant of Rs 60,000 if villagers achieved "Samras"
and unanimously selected one name for sarpanch.
For the December 10 elections, for which nominations
began on Wednesday, the government increased
the grant to Rs. 1 one lakh and an additional
Rs 50,000 to the existing "samras"
villages if they achieved by unanimity for the
second time. In the last elections 3,934 villages
emerged as "samras" villages.
The vice-president of the Mahila Swarajya Abhiyan
and one of the conveners of the vigilance committee,
Persis Ginwala, alleged that the village and
taluka revenue officers were moving from village
to village to discourage people from contesting
and openly suggesting the names of BJP sympathisers
to be accepted as the unanimous choice. In a
number of cases, the reluctant villagers had
been threatened with penal actions, besides
being denied the special government grants if
they went ahead with contesting elections.
"The poor and illiterate villagers are
often forced to accept the recommendations of
the mamlatdars (taluk revenue officers) and
withdraw from contest," alleged Kantaben
of the Mouchha village in Prantij taluka of
Sabarkantha district.
Ms. Ginwala pointed out that even after the
model code of conduct came into force on November
15 , the government officers were going round
the villages threatening people with penal action
if they refused to fall in line. Several women
representatives of the Abhiyan coming from various
villages alleged that on the first day of filling
nominations on Wednesday, the government officials
functioning as the returning officers had been
refusing to accept the nomination forms.
The "samras" move, besides denying
the basic democratic rights of the people, was
also causing immense harm to the development
of the villages. Ms. Ginwala claimed that the
people "imposed" as sarpanchs through
the "samras" move did not feel answerable
to the people and were unwilling to take up
their problems.
Instead of avoiding groupism, the "samras"
was causing more bad blood among the villagers,
she claimed. The worst impact of the "samras"
move, she claimed, was encouraging corruption
right at the grass-root level. No account had
been provided for the special grants given to
the "samras" villages last time nor
was there any visible improvement seen in the
villages which received the special grants last
time.
The committee representatives had called on
the State Election Commission responsible for
conducting free and fair elections to the village
panchayats. But it expressed its inability to
interfere in the matter as the "samras"
was a State government scheme over which the
Election Commission had no jurisdiction.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/23/stories/2006112319091400.htm
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