PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that the government will soon submit its reply to the Uttarakhand High Court’s order regarding Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand after which the situation will become clear. The party also advised the Congress to refrain from politicising the matter and to respect the court’s decision. The BJP State president and Rajya Sabha member Mahendra Bhatt stated that the BJP fully supports early elections and is proceeding with candidate selection through designated observers. He said that the BJP and the State government are committed to holding the three-tier Panchayat elections in line with constitutional procedures and reservation norms. He added that the government had announced the election schedule after considering all legal requirements. Bhatt said that the High Court has sought certain information from the government in connection with the petitions filed. He said that the government will soon file its reply and once the court issues its decision, the election scenario will become completely clear. He rejected the Congress’ allegations of irregularities in the reservation process, saying the current roster follows Supreme Court directives. He added that reservations for OBCs have been included according to the prescribed norms and that the interests of women, SC and ST communities have also been considered. Responding to Congress’ objection to holding the elections over two days, Bhatt said that the Election Commission sets polling dates based on factors like weather, geography and availability of administrative and police resources. He stated that elections have been conducted over three days in the past and said if the polls were scheduled on a single day, the Congress would have accused the government of manipulation. Bhatt said that the BJP supports holding the Panchayat elections at the earliest and that the party organisation is moving forward with preparations. Observers are currently visiting assembly constituencies to prepare a panel of supported candidates for the district Panchayat member posts. According to him, this internal process will continue and the panels from all areas will be finalised by Tuesday.
