Jaipur, Oct 1 (PTI) The Congress launched its campaign for the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan from Degana in Nagaur on Thursday.
The party organised a Panchayati Raj Workers’ Conference at Degana. Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, Congress MLAs, former candidates and party functionaries attended the programme.
Addressing the gathering, Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra asked party workers to remain united and accused the BJP government of misusing the administration ahead of the polls.
He said the Congress chose Degana to begin its preparations for the rural polls as the Panchayati Raj system was launched in Nagaur by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959.
Dotasra, who also celebrated his birthday on Thursday, recalled his political journey, saying he had started from the Panchayati Raj system and served as a pradhan before entering the Rajasthan Assembly.
He asked Congress workers to take the party’s message to villages and dhanis and prepare for the elections unitedly.
“We will have to contest the elections together, forgetting our differences,” he said.
Alleging that the BJP government was using the administration to gather information about people likely to contest the panchayat elections, Dotasra claimed such information could be used to pressure prospective Congress candidates.
He also repeated the party’s allegations that the police and administration were misused during the recently held urban local body elections to influence councillors.
Dotasra said Congress workers should tell people about welfare measures introduced by the previous Congress governments and contrast them with the BJP government’s performance.
Speaking on the occasion, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully said the BJP’s vote share had declined in the urban local body elections. He alleged that the ruling party used the police and administration to secure control of civic bodies.
On their way to Degana, Dotasra and Jully were welcomed by party workers in several places, including in Dudu, Ajmer and Beawar.
At Dudu, supporters of rival aspirants for Zila Parishad tickets entered into a scuffle during the welcome programme. Workers from the two groups exchanged blows before others intervened.
Some workers came face-to-face again during Dotasra’s address, prompting him to rebuke them and ask them to sit down.
“This is not an election campaign. Sit down; you are not such a big man,” Dotasra told one of the workers. PTI SDA RUK
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