At a meeting of the Forum held at the Navelim Panchayat hall on Wednesday evening, the Salcete Block Panchayat Forrum has strongly demanded that the Ordinance be rescinded in toto and the Amendment carried out to the Goa Panchayati Raj Act be withdrawn with immediately.
“Successive governments in Goa have not taken any steps till date to the demands and pleas of the people requesting to carry out necessary amendments to incorporate the 73rd and 74th amendment of the constitution into the Panchayat Raj Act. However, the present arbitrary Ordinance passed in undue haste by the cabinet to hold Zilla elections on party lines reeks of ulterior motives”, stated Forum spokesperson Maria Franky MOnteiro.
She said the hidden agenda of the government stands exposed wherein the sole intention of the government is to have control over the grass root governing bodies.
“It is an open secret that the next step would be to hold the panchayat elections on party lines. The election on party lines will allow the Ministers and MLAs exercise control over the panchayat bodies and influence every panchayat decision according to their whims and fancies”, she added.
The Salcete Block Panchayat Forrum strongly objects to the Ordinance as it is against the very spirit of the constitution which promotes powers to the grass root governing bodies. “Such amendments to the Goa Panchayat Raj Act cannot be carried out without the participation of the people at grass root in a democratic set up and such amendments can only be allowed after taking the panchayats and the people into confidence after getting the same approved through gram sabhas”, she added.
