Kundapur: Sadananda Gowda leads protest against amended Panchayat Raj Bill

Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (NM)

Kundapur, Jul 1: “The Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill – 2013 is destructive. It hinders the privilege to decentralize power to the rural level," said former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda.

He was addressing a protest staged by the BJP members of Kundapur gram panchayat against the Congress government in front of Kundapur taluk office here on Monday, July 1.

“Appropriate implementation of various schemes in the state is possible only when there is a decentralization of power at different levels,” the former chief minister said.

"However, the amended Bill seeks to give powers to regional commissioners to disqualify gram panchayat presidents if they fail to convene gram sabha meetings at least twice in a year. It is an insensitive amendment. The BJP condemn it,” he said.

"Right from day one, the Congress has been bringing about anti-people policies, either out of overconfidence stemming from victory in elections, or because it wants to play politics of revenge (with BJP)," he added.

"Although the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill – 2013 has been passed in the legislative assembly, the BJP will not allow it in the legislative council. The protest which has begun in Kundapur should reach statewide. All the 63,000 members of gram panchayat should come to the streets and oppose it. We will continue to protest against the amendment till it is revoked," Sadananda Gowda said.

Former minister Srinvas Poojary, BJP district president Udaykumar Shetty, Kishore Kumar, secretary Rajesh Kaveri, Thingale Vikramarjuna and others were present.