MARGAO: The Betalbatim and Dramapur Sirlim gram sabhas were adjourned without transacting any business following a demand from the villagers not to have the gram sabha where no developmental works could be discussed due to the code of conduct in force.
And while the Dramapur Sirlim gram sabha was adjourned to 26th May 2019 the first Sunday after the Lok Sabha results would be declared, the Betalbatim gram sabha would be held after the code of conduct ceases to be in force.
Raising a point of order former minister Mickey Pacheco objected to the agenda stating that no proposals from people would be considered due to the code of conduct being in force. “Show me the provision of law under which this has been decided,” he demanded rejecting the panchayat’s reason that it had received a circular from the BDO following which the body decided not to accept any suggestions to be taken up for discussion.
Mickey was joined by some other villagers who referred to the announcement made by the priest in the church about the gram sabha and argued that since no proposals were accepted people did not come for the gram sabha.
There was a bit of a spat when the Deputy Sarpanch Antonio Minu Fernandes asked one villager Jerson Rebello whether he was a registered voter in the village and whether he had brought his card which was objected to by other villagers who demanded that everybody’s cards should be checked.
As there was no let down and Mickey demanded to know the provision of law and as demanded by Joe Cota that the gram sabha be adjourned, it was decided to hold the gram sabha after the code of conduct ceases to be in force.
At Dramapur Sirlim the villagers termed the gram sabha to be a “mockery” of democracy as they could not discuss any developmental works and they were particularly aggrieved because the panchayat body meetings for the last about four months, end abruptly without transacting all the business.
The villagers while asserting that they wanted to discuss the functioning of the panchayat and how they are suffering because of the irregular panchayat meetings, demanded that the gram sabha be adjourned and held after the code of conduct comes to an end.
Accordingly the Sarpanch Sanjana Chari adjourned the gram sabha which will now be held on 26th May 2019.
