Jaipur, Jul 12 (PTI) Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Rajasthan government, Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused it of avoiding its constitutional responsibilities by delaying elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies.
Escalating his attack, the former chief minister alleged the state government is violating constitutional provisions due to fear of defeat in these elections.
“The BJP government, which talks about one and a half years versus five years, is in such a bad state that it is not even able to conduct the elections of Panchayati Raj and urban bodies,” he said in a post on X in Hindi.
Gehlot said it is clearly written in Article 243-E of the Constitution that Panchayati Raj elections will be held every five years.
Citing the Supreme Court’s decisions on cases involving the Goa government vs Fauzia Imtiaz Sheikh and Punjab State Election Commission vs Punjab government, the Congress leader said the apex court has ordered that Panchayati Raj elections should be held every five years.
“The BJP government in Rajasthan is violating all constitutional provisions due to fear of defeat,” he added.
Gehlot was reacting to a post on X by Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, who also hit out at the government on this issue.
“A situation of serious constitutional crisis persists in Rajasthan. The State Election Commission has also raised serious questions on the intention of the BJP government, which is postponing the panchayat and civic elections by flouting constitutional norms,” posted Dotasra.
He alleged the BJP does not believe in democracy and it is openly disregarding this system.
“The BJP government took the cover of ‘one state, one election’ to strangle local self-governance and then postponed the elections citing reorganization and delimitation of panchayats and civic bodies. The dates of the delimitation process were repeatedly revised and finally the last date for disposal of objections and approval of proposals in the urban body was fixed as May 22, 2025,” said Dotasra.
The Rajasthan Congress president further alleged the reality is the BJP does not want to let elected representatives come to the local bodies by misusing power so that it can rule through bureaucracy.
“This situation is not only an attack on the basic principles of democracy, but also an attempt to establish autocratic rule by pressurizing constitutional institutions,” said Dotasra.
“In democracy, people are supreme and elections are the biggest right of people,” he added. PTI AG AS AS
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