Bhubaneswar, 23 September (IANS) Odisha Legislative Assembly on Tuesday opposed the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members alleging weakening the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in the state.
As soon as the time of question began on Tuesday, the members of the BJD staged noise protests near Speaker Surma Paddi’s podium, raised slogans against the state government to “limit” the powers of elected representatives at the ground level.
Despite the deen, Speaker Pathi allowed the questions to continue the questions to answer the questions of the members with Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik.
Meanwhile, Congress MLAs staged a silent protest inside the House, reciting “BJD-BJP brother”, accused the two sides of not allowing the assembly to work smoothly.
The speaker was repeatedly seen appealing to both BJD and Congress members to maintain discipline, but to no avail. After working for 20 consecutive minutes, the Pandmonium continuously motivated the speaker Paddy to postpone the house by 4 pm.
Talking to media persons, BJD leader Gautam Buddha Das said that Mahatma Gandhi had strongly advocated to empower people in villages through decentralization of power for the development of the country.
He also said that, according to Mahatma Gandhi’s recommendations, the three -level Panchayati Raj system was introduced through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. Senior BJD leaders said that the amendment ensured decentralization by handing over power to the members of the ward, sarpanch, block chairpersons, district council members and presidents, etc. at the grassroots level.
“However, since coming to power in the state, the BJP has been curbing the powers of the representatives of the people, which is also being curbed on the rights of the people. It is nothing less than the attempt to kill democracy. The government is plotting to move power away from people and keep it in the hands of officials.”
He also said that the BJD on Tuesday staged a protest against both the state government indoors and outside to curb the powers of the representatives of the people under PRI. The senior BJD leader warned that the BJD will continue his opposition until the state government canceled its decisions and restore the power received by members of Sarpanchs, Block Chairpersons and Zilla Parishad earlier.
BJD workers and leaders of 314 blocks across the state are protesting on the issue on Tuesday.
On September 10, the state cabinet approved the proposal to increase the financial power of Block Development Officers in Panchayat Summites (Block) and to pass a bill up to Rs 10 lakh without further counteres of the Chief Development Officer-cum-Facilitated Representatives in the District Council.
The Biju Janata Dal and the Congress have criticized the government’s decision to vest more and more financial powers among PRI officials, alleging that it would reduce the role of elected representatives on the ground.
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Knowledge/DPB