Congress is running away from every election: Sandipani Bhardwaj
BJP state spokesperson Sandipani Bhardwaj said that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is constantly trying to escape the democratic process. He alleged that the Congress government is not confident of its popularity among the public, and hence, it is trying to postpone every election.
Sandipani Bhardwaj said that the Urban Development Department recently issued instructions to district election officers and deputy commissioners to implement reservation rosters in 53 urban local bodies, but on the other hand, the government is reluctant to hold elections in the newly created 21 urban local bodies. This clearly shows that the Congress government is pursuing a strategy of postponing elections rather than holding them.
He said the State Election Commission has made it clear that elections for all urban bodies will be held simultaneously, as holding separate elections would repeatedly trigger code of conduct enforcement and disrupt development work. Despite this, the government is attempting to pressure the Commission and delay the process.
The BJP spokesperson said that this is not the first time the Congress government is running away from elections. Previously, the government attempted to postpone the Panchayat elections, and now the same approach is being adopted for municipal elections. He said that the Congress party fears a major defeat in the upcoming elections, so it wants to avoid holding elections.
Sandipani Bhardwaj said that Himachal Pradesh has a total of 75 municipal corporations, municipal councils, and town panchayats, of which the term of more than 47 bodies has already expired, and the government has appointed administrators in these places. According to the rules, elections in these bodies should have been held on time, but the government attempted to postpone the elections by invoking the Disaster Act.
He said that now as per the instructions of Himachal High Court and Supreme Court, it is mandatory to prepare the reservation roster before March 31 and conduct elections before May 31, but despite this the government seems to be intending to postpone the elections.
The BJP spokesperson said that the State Election Commission has initiated the ward delimitation process and published a draft. Public objections have been invited until March 19th, and they will be resolved by March 23rd. The Divisional Commissioner will then process appeals by April 1st, and final delimitation orders will be issued by April 2nd.
He said that the Congress government is constantly engaging in confrontational politics with the Election Commission and attempting to undermine democratic institutions. He said that the Congress party should understand that the politics of running away from elections cannot last long in a democracy.
Sandipani Bhardwaj said that BJP believes in respecting democratic traditions and constitutional institutions and demands from the government to stop unnecessary delay in municipal elections and conduct the elections on time, so that the public can get the right to elect their representatives.
