Jaipur, Apr 13 (PTI) Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra on Monday accused the BJP-led state government of attempting to delay local body elections on “untenable grounds” and evading its constitutional responsibility.
Dotasra said in a post on X that the petition submitted by the state government before the Jaipur bench of the high court today citing eight reasons to defer the elections, was completely illogical and merely an excuse to avoid accountability.
He said the court had set a deadline of April 15 for conducting elections to urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions, but the government had “completely failed” to meet the timeline.
“The grounds mentioned in the petition are baseless and reflect the government’s intent to avoid holding elections,” Dotasra said, alleging that the BJP government’s “undemocratic approach” was weakening democratic institutions in the state.
Citing constitutional provisions, he said Articles 243E and 243U mandate timely elections to Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies, making it a constitutional obligation of the state.
Dotasra also questioned the government’s argument of staff shortage, asking whether fresh recruitment was being undertaken ahead of elections and how such issues would be resolved in the coming months.
He alleged that issues like the OBC Commission report and reservation process were being used as pretexts to delay the polls, despite repeated observations by courts against unnecessary postponement of elections.
The Congress leader said elections were successfully conducted even during the COVID-19 pandemic under strict guidelines and questioned why the present government was reluctant to hold polls under normal circumstances. PTI SDA PRK
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