Though even naives know it that only Jammu & Kashmir assembly is empowered to amend or modify the existing panchayat law in the state but Home Minister Rajnath Singh without showing any respect for the constitutional powers of the Jammu & Kashmir assembly in amending or modifying the existing panchayat law talks about diverting administrative powers of primary heath centres (PHCs), primary schools and anganwari centres to panchayats as implemented in other states of the country under 73rd constitutional amendment bill passed by the parliament and implement in all states of the country excepting Jammu & Kashmir by the erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi led Congress government long back. Though it is for the Jammu & Kashmir assembly to extend the application of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment bills for empowering the panchayats and urban local bodies in the state but Home Minister Rajnath Singh talks about the empowerment of panchayats and urban local bodies as if has no knowledge about the constitutional bindings on the central government in extending the application of central laws to Jammu & Kashmir . Had the incumbent central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi been serious about the empowerment of panchayats and urban local bodies in Jammu & Kashmir it would have preferred to find ways of empowering panchayats and urban local bodies before taking a decision on holding panchayat and municipal elections in the state?
The remarks of Rajnath Singh show his intents of imposing controversial panchayat and municipal laws without the approval of the state assembly by taking ordinance routes but such extra constitutional measures won’t last long in Jammu & Kashmir a state which during last more than four and half years BJP rule in the country is passing through an unending phase of civilian unrest.
Since Home Minister Rajnath Singh could not find ways to amend and modify the existing panchayat and municipal laws to empower them at par with the civic bodies in other states of the country despite having his own party BJP sharing power with PDP for three long years for the first time after 1947 in Jammu & Kashmir state. The remarks of Rajnath Singh show his intents of imposing controversial panchayat and municipal laws without the approval of the state assembly by taking ordinance routes but such extra constitutional measures won’t last long in Jammu & Kashmir a state which during last more than four and half years BJP rule in the country is passing through an unending phase of civilian unrest.
