A day after the High Court set aside the GO earmarking 59.85% quota for weaker sections in the local body elections, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked the officials to take steps to conduct the elections within a month.
“The High Court has also given directions in this regard. The officials will meet the Election Commission tomorrow. The elections to MPTC, ZPTC, panchayat and municipal bodies will be conducted in a month,” Mr. Jagan said at a review meeting on the Spandana programme on Tuesday.
Mr. Jagan recalled that the government promulgated an ordinance amending the Panchayat Raj Act. Any candidate found to be violating the election code would be disqualified. Also, a punishment of three years would be awarded. At present, the punishment was between three and six months. If proven guilty even after winning the election, the candidate in question would be disqualified. Remote governance would not be permitted.
Elected representatives should be available to people every day. The ordinance gives an opportunity to persons who want to serve people sincerely and devotedly, he said.
‘Police should act tough’
Mr. Jagan said the ordinance was also aimed at curbing the influence of money and liquor. The Police Department should act tough on this front. The Superintendent of Police (SP) of the district concerned would have to take up steps to control the flow of money and liquor during the elections. The services of Police Mitras and Mahila police in villages would be fully utilised for the purpose, he said.
The local body elections in the State should be set an example and be a role model for the entire country. An app has to be developed to curb irregularities in the elections as was done in the general elections. The data should be readily available to the police. The app should be made available to the Police Mitras, Mahila Mitras, village volunteers and the public.
A copy of the ordinance should be prominently displayed in all village secretariats, he added.
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