Chandigarh: In a major turnaround by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, the government has withdrawn its 10 August notification dissolving the over 13,000 panchayats in the state, restoring their status with immediate effect.
Punjab’s advocate general Vinod Ghai informed a division bench led by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court Justice Ravi Shankar Jha Thursday that the government had decided to withdraw its notification dissolving the panchayats in the run-up to the panchayat elections scheduled to be held later this year.
Earlier this month, the Punjab government had through a notification dissolved all gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads in the state with immediate effect announcing that elections to these local bodies will be held in November and December.
There are 13,241 gram panchayats, 153 block samitis and 23 zila parishads in Punjab.
“The entire notification of 10 August will be revoked in a day or two,” Ghai confirmed to ThePrint.
The government’s move to dissolve the local bodies more than four months before elections were due had been severely criticised by the opposition.
Terming the decision as “politically motivated” by the AAP government to gain control of the panchayats ahead of the elections, opposition leaders of the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal had announced state-wide protests against the move.
Multiple petitions challenging the decision were also filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Interestingly, in a related matter that was heard in the high court by a different bench Tuesday, the Punjab government had defended its move saying that the local bodies had been dissolved according to the provisions of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
The Punjab government had further told the high court Tuesday that there are Rs 1000 crore in the bank accounts of the panchayats which could be misused by panchayat members in the run-up to the elections.
Following the announcement of the withdrawal of the 10 August notification, opposition leaders in the state took to social media thanking the HC adding that the government’s decision was triggered by fear of an “adverse judgment”.
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‘Forced to take U-turn’
Talking about the AAP government’s stand Tuesday, advocate Baldev Singh Sidhu, who had challenged the government’s decision in the high court on behalf of one of the panchayats, told ThePrint, “The government had put forth the argument that there were several instances of panchayats defaulting on the appropriate use of funds and since these funds could be misused before the elections for personal gains by the panchayat members it had dissolved the panchayats. We contended that the government should in that case take action against only the defaulting panchayat and not paint everyone with the same brush.”
Reacting to the government’s decision Thursday to withdraw the 10 August notification, Congress member and leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa said in a social media post that this was a “tight slap on the face of fake revolutionaries”.
Thanking the high court, Bajwa said that the government’s decision was a result of the high court’s dressing down to the government. He added that Punjab will not tolerate “Hitler-like dictators”.
ਝੂਠੇ ਇੰਨਕਲਾਬੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਮੂੰਹ 'ਤੇ ਇੱਕ ਹੋਰ ਚਪੇੜ…
ਮਾਨਯੋਗ ਹਾਈਕੋਰਟ ਤੋਂ ਫਿਟਕਾਰਾਂ ਮਿਲਣ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ "ਆਪ" ਸਰਕਾਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀਆਂ ਪੰਚਾਇਤਾਂ ਭੰਗ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਫ਼ੈਸਲਾ ਵਾਪਿਸ ਲੈਣਾ ਸਵਿਕਾਰ ਯੋਗ ਹੈ। ਮੈਂ, ਮਾਨਯੋਗ ਹਾਈਕੋਰਟ ਦਾ ਵੀ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ।
ਇਹ ਸਮੂਹ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਵੱਡੀ ਜਿੱਤ ਹੈ, ਪੰਚਾਇਤੀ ਸੰਸਥਾਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਮੁੱਚੇ ਮੈਂਬਰਾਂ… pic.twitter.com/EMT1hfO0ZF
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) August 31, 2023
Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary Daljit Singh Cheema also took to social media to say that the government was forced to revoke its decision “sensing an adverse judgment”.
“Punjab Govt had no option but to withdraw the notification issued few days back dissolving the elected panchayat six months before the completion of their term. It is a victory for democracy. With this the anti democratic face of the AAP Govt has been exposed,” Cheema said.
He added: “Govt has no legal argument to defend this dictatorial notification issued for narrow political considerations in the court of law. So it is forced to take a U turn. The government’s decision was aimed at snatching the powers of duly elected panchayats & handing it over to persons of their own choice. (sic)”
Sensing adverse judgment the Punjab Govt had no option but to withdraw the notification issued few days back dissolving elected panchayat six months before the completion of their term. It is a victory of democracy.
With this the anti democratic face of the AAP Govt has been…
— Dr Daljit S Cheema (@drcheemasad) August 31, 2023
General elections of members of the panchayat samitis and the zila parishads are scheduled to be held by 25 November and elections to gram panchayats are to be held by 31 December according to a government statement issued along with the August 10 notification.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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