Satauj (Sangrur), Oct 3 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday exhorted people to reject those using money and muscle power while campaigning for the upcoming panchayat elections and appealed to them to elect sarpanches unanimously.
Addressing a gathering in his native village Satauj, Mann said panchayat polls are aimed at making people a part of democracy at the grassroots level and that his government is committed to ensuring that these polls are held in a free, fair and peaceful manner, according to an official release.
Elections to over 13,000 gram panchayats in Punjab will be held on October 15.
People should arrive at a consensus about the candidates to be elected in the panchayats, Mann told the gathering.
Any village that elects panchayats unanimously will get a grant of Rs 5 lakh along with setting up of a stadium, a school or a hospital, whatever is needed, he said.
Mann further said that people should discourage the use of money and muscle power in these polls, thereby becoming an integral part of the democratic process.
It will help in the holistic development of villages across the state and cementing the ethos of communal harmony and brotherhood, he said.
Panchayat elections in the state will be contested by candidates without party symbols. This will end groupism in villages and ensure comprehensive development of the rural areas, the chief minister said.
The state government has taken the “path-breaking” decision to debar candidates from contesting elections on party symbols in the larger public interest, he added.
He said a sarpanch should be elected for villages and not for any political party or group.
The chief minister said his state government wants to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system and for this, intelligent and honest people must be elected. PTI CHS DIV DIV
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