Oppn walkout over panchayat election ordinance

ADHIRAJ MALHAN

JAMMU: Irked by the government for bringing an ordinance for holding Panchayat elections in the state, NC-Congress members today staged a walkout from the Legislative Council after lodging protest.
Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga raised the issue of delimitation of Panchayats for conducting elections before the start of Question Hour in Legislative Council.
He alleged that the government is conducting delimitation of Panchayats on its own. According to the Panchayati Raj Act, the Chief Electoral Officer is authorised to conduct the delimitation of panchayat halqas. Minister for Rural Development, Abdul Haq Khan said that it seems that the member read only two lines not the whole ordinance on panchayats. The government is not going to hold delimitation of Panchayat halqas and the Chief Electoral Officer has been authorized to hold the delimitation as per the Panchayat Act, he said.
NC MLC Bashir Ahmed Veeri said that the government brought ordinance for amendment in Panchayati Raj Act at a time when the House is in session.
Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga, Sham Lal Bhagat, NC MLC Shehnaz Ganai raised apprehensions about delimitation of panchayats and the entire opposition staged a walkout from the Council at 11.12 a.m. before the start of Question Hour.
MLC Shehnaz Ganai staged a walkout twice for not being given enough time to raise her issues.
Chairman Legislative Council requested the members to raise their issues in Zero Hour but the opposition members kept raising their own issues that created a chaos.
Despite repeated requests from the chairman, Shehnaz Ganai staged a walkout.