Congress accuses BJP of undermining local governance in Rajasthan

The Hindu

28-05-2025

The Opposition Congress on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan of systematically weakening the urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions - first by invoking the need for delimitation and subsequently by citing the ongoing survey for identifying Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The party alleged that the BJP's slogan of 'one State, one election' was merely a political gimmick.
The Rajasthan High Court had, on May 23, directed the State government not to issue a notification regarding the redrawn boundaries of village panchayats until a high-level committee submitted its findings on objections raised by more than 40 petitioners. The petitioners have argued that the delimitation process violated established guidelines.
Meanwhile, a Cabinet Sub-Committee held two days of meetings, on Tuesday and Wednesday, to review proposals for the delimitation of municipal bodies across all seven administrative divisions. 'The delimitation process will make urban administration people-oriented and improve transparency and accountability,' Minister of State for Urban Development Jhabar Singh Kharra, who is the Sub-Committee's convenor, said.
However, large sections of the public, along with the petitioners, have voiced concern over the lack of transparency in how villages are being added or removed during the reorganisation exercise. In several instances, relatively less populated and underdeveloped villages are being proposed as new panchayat headquarters, raising questions about the availability of land and infrastructure.
Petitioners have also alleged that infrastructure-poor regions are being prioritised over more developed and populous villages in the reorganisation process. Responding to these concerns in court, Advocate General Rajendra Prasad said that the proposals remain at a 'preliminary stage'.
The Congress further criticised the BJP government for the continued postponement of local body and panchayat elections. The State administration had dissolved nine of the 17 districts that were carved out during the previous Congress-led government on December 28, 2024. Though eight new districts were endorsed by the current regime, the process of establishing new zila parishads, panchayat samitis, and gram panchayats remains incomplete.
Welcoming the High Court's interim stay, Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully, speaking at a Samvidhan Bachao rally in Malpura, said, 'The BJP government had proposed reorganisation of panchayats through the Collectors, while ignoring the objections raised by the general public. This entire chakravyuh [trap] of the BJP in the name of 'one State, one election' is a stunt to please its political masters sitting in Delhi.'
Byelections to fill vacant positions in municipal bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions - including ward members, panches, and sarpanches - are now scheduled for June 8.
Earlier this week, the State government appointed a chairperson and members to the State OBC Commission to fulfil a Supreme Court-mandated requirement for conducting an OBC survey before extending reservation benefits in the local body polls.
'No work was done in one-and-a-half years since the BJP government took over. The Commission has been given three months' time for conducting the OBC survey, which is nearly impossible,' Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra said. He alleged that the ruling party's real intent was to stall elections and bypass constitutional mandates through 'arbitrary decisions' affecting democratic institutions.