Panchayat leaders from across Madhya Pradesh to join Congress today
BHOPAL: In a blow to the state BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections, a large number of rural elected representatives — including district panchayat presidents, janpadh presidents and sarpanchs — are likely to switch to Congress on Saturday morning.
The Kamal Nath government is organising a convention of panchayat representatives under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) at Dushehra Maidan in BHEL.
Before the programme starts, many of these panchayat representatives will join Congress in the presence of chief minister Kamal Nath, say sources.
The Pradesh Congress office said that at least 25 district panchayats and 50 janpadh panchayats are expected to join Congress, along with several sarpanchs. This means, could mean that Congress is cutting into BJP’s rural worker base after returning to power.
“We were all part of BJP and have been denied our rights in the panchayati system under the erstwhile BJP government,” Sandeep Patel, district panchayat president of Narsinghpur, told TOI. “The basic ethos of panchayati raj system was defeated and demolished by the former BJP government. We were elected but not given any rights or authority to develop villages and rural areas. We met chief minister Kamal Nath and he assured us that pachayati raj will get its recognition, just as it did in the tenure of the Digvijaya Singh government. That is why we have made up our minds to join Congress.”
The Pradesh Congress office said that at least 25 district panchayats and 50 janpadh panchayats are expected to join Congress, along with several sarpanchs. This means, could mean that Congress is cutting into BJP’s rural worker base after returning to power.
“We were all part of BJP and have been denied our rights in the panchayati system under the erstwhile BJP government,” Sandeep Patel, district panchayat president of Narsinghpur, told TOI. “The basic ethos of panchayati raj system was defeated and demolished by the former BJP government. We were elected but not given any rights or authority to develop villages and rural areas. We met chief minister Kamal Nath and he assured us that pachayati raj will get its recognition, just as it did in the tenure of the Digvijaya Singh government. That is why we have made up our minds to join Congress.”
In 2000, the Digvijaya government was the first in the country to create a fourth layer in the panchayati raj system and called it Gram Sabha. Every member of the village was given a role in governance and development.
Patel said he was with BJP for a long time. “But we found that BJP did not believe in decentralisation and distribution of power at the grassroots level. Many of us repeatedly approached the government and leaders of the former BJP government and asked them to give us the rights to develop our villages. But we got no privileges and just kept waiting for years,” he said. District panchayat president from Bhopal, Manmohan Nagar, said CM Nath has promised to “return the powers that were taken away from the panchayats by BJP.”
By late Friday evening, panchayat representatives from Guna, Rajgarh, Singrauli, Chhindwara , Datia, Sehore, Betul, Khargone, Shajapur, Panna, Agar-Malwa, Shahdol, Madsaur, Gwalior, Tikamgarh, Neemuch and Katni had reached the state capital. “More panchayat representatives and sarpanchs will join us by morning,” Nagar said. The programme will be chaired by panchayat and rural development minister Kamleshwar Patel.
PCC media committee chairperson Shobha Oza said, “For the last 15 years, BJP tried to muzzle the panchayati raj system, which was the dream of Mahatma Gandhi. Our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave the right to villages for their development. But BJP does not believe in distribution of power at the grassroots. The Congress believes in democracy, decentralisation of power and empowerment of villages. This is why they are joining Congress and we welcome them.”
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