UNREALITY OF THE PANCHAYAT POLL

HUBLI, Dec 22 2010
There is an air of unreality even as the three major political parties in Karnataka flex their muscle for the latest round of hustings in the panchayat elections in Karnataka scheduled to be held by the end of this month..
Firstly, all the three parties have left no stone unturned to raise hype over the outcome of the poll and say that the future of the government depends on it. The reality is that the elections for the taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections in Karnataka have no role to play in determining the political fortunes of beleaguered Yeddyurappa. It does not in any way affect the balance of power in the state assembly, where at the moment, Yeddyurappa appears to be well ensconced.
In the case of the rural voters trusting BJP for running the panchayat institutions, Mr. Yeddyurappa may claim that his policies have received a mandate from the people and cock a snook at his detractors who have been braying for his blood found as he is a quagmire of scams by himself and his ministerial colleagues.
In the case of an adverse vote, the Congress and JDS may go to the town to claim that people have shown their displeasure and may demand that Yeddyurappa should demit office. But Mr. Yeddyurappa may reject the demand in limine by taking the stand that it does not reflect the mood of the people, since the urban voters are not a part of the election process. And that his future has to be decided on the floor of the legislature and not in panchayat election. The President of the national BJP, Mr. Gadkari who had said that Yeddyurappa had been given a reprieve till the panchayat elections also will not be able to secure resignation of the Yeddyurappa because of the likely adverse impact it may have on the only saffron government in the south.
Secondly, all the three parties, have been conveniently ignored the core issue of the panchayat elections, namely of how efficiently these institutions of democratic decentralization could be effectively run to ensure that the money meant for the rural development is spent properly for the benefit and improvement of the lot of the stake holders and how they can remove the impediments coming in the way.
All of them without an exception have been busy fudging on the core issue of empowerment of these institutions and talk of the rural development programme as if the rural development programmes are synonymous with panchayat empowerment.
None of them including the ruling BJP, are telling people about their commitment to empower the panchayat institutions. Even if they were to tell that it would be taken with a pinch of salt. It is because all of them have an uniform record of emasculating the panchayats as for as possible and have abetted in the moves to subtlety withdraw the powers given to them by law. They would have succeeded in their endeavour to turn them into their vassals but for the constitutional safeguards that these institutions enjoy thanks to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments.
There have been occasions, when the Congress tried its level best to violate the constitutional provision of having regular elections once in five years before the expiry of the term. The BJP would have tried this time to postpone poll, but went in for it for sheer political compulsions and prospects of had political advantage they could derive in the process. This was the direct consequence of the reducing the seats reserved for the OBCs as per the direction of the Supreme Court, and everybody knows that it is a constituency in which BJP is not comfortably placed.
More than the political parties, their MLAs regardless of the political divide are dead opposed to any move to empower the panchayats since they fear that any alternate leadership which may emerge in the rural areas as a consequence may prove to be inimical to their position. They have not lost a single occasion to put these institutions down, deride them and talked about the rampant corruption in the panchayat institutions, forgetting the fact that they are the fountain heads of corruption and have not lifted a finger to fight corruption. It is a case of kettle calling the cup black.
The report of the third State Finance Commission headed by Mr. AG Kodgi, which has recommended a new formula for sharing the resources between the state government and the panchayats has been with the state government for more than a year but still, neither the party in power is bothered with it nor the opposition has taken the government to task for the delay in the implementation of the report. The Constitution enjoins that the states appoint the state finance commission in a bid to ensure a fair devolution of finances to enable the panchayat s to discharge the responsibilities given to them. The implementation of the recommendations of the previous two finance commissions has been quite tardy and there appear to be no early prospects of the latest one being implemented.
The point at issue whom should the rural voters prefer in the ensuing polls to the panchayat elections. One party is as bad as another and all of them are universally untrustworthy. They have no chance but to vote. And political parties are their to utilse the opportunity for their political aggrandizement and have hardly anytime to give any thought for strengthening of the system, whose vitality has been sapped by the subtle moves of the government to keep all these institutions under their bureaucratic thumbs.
Eom 22.12.10