Congress won’t accept any indirect election for sarpanches: Uttam Kumar

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy addressed a press conference in Hyderabad on Thursday where he announced that the Congress won’t accept any indirect election for sarpanches being proposed by the state Government.

Stating that indirect elections would only help rich leaders to lure majority of ward members with money and get elected as sarpanches, Uttam Kumar said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has encouraged defection of MLAs and intends to adopt the same in panchayat elections.

Demanding an all-party meeting on the issue, he said that the Panchayat Raj Act was implemented to empower local bodies and encourage village-level leadership adding that changes in the law should be a collective decision.

Also opposing the advancement of panchayat elections, the TPCC Chief said that the Congress will hold meetings in all villages on January 23 and in all rural assembly constituencies on January 27.

Uttam Kumar even stated that they will be submitting representations against the proposed amendments in Panchayat Raj Act to the district collectors on January 30.