Jaipur, April 30 Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday alleged that the Rajasthan government was violating rules and engaging in irregularities while reorganising the Panchayati Raj institutions and urban bodies in the state. In a strongly worded social media post, Gehlot criticised the BJP and the RSS, accusing them of manipulating the process to win upcoming local body elections "by hook or crook".
He claimed that the government was arbitrarily making new boundaries, flouting legal procedures, and ignoring public objections.
Gehlot wrote on Instagram: “The BJP government in Rajasthan is arbitrarily reorganising Panchayati Raj and urban bodies. I have never seen such blatant disregard for rules and laws. Instead of addressing public objections, district collectors are saying they can’t intervene, as all decisions are being made at the state level.”
He further alleged that the government failed to conduct by-elections in several areas, including the Bharatpur district, and used the excuse of 'One State-One Election' to delay elections even after the completion of terms.
“Now, in a bid to appease their vote bank, they are ignoring established norms and public convenience. Minimum and maximum population standards are not being followed, nor is the required distance from administrative headquarters being maintained,” Gehlot added.
He pointed out specific anomalies, such as merging villages located 10 kilometres from cities into urban bodies, and assigning villages to panchayats in such a way that the panchayat headquarters ends up 5 to 10 km away.
Gehlot concluded by stating that public resentment is growing due to these irregularities.
On Tuesday, the state government's decision to delay municipal body elections was challenged in the Rajasthan High Court.
A division bench comprising Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Anand Sharma heard the PIL filed by former MLA Sanyam Lodha and directed the state government to submit its response within four weeks.
According to the petition, elections have not been conducted in 55 municipal bodies whose terms expired in November 2024. Instead, administrators have been appointed -- an act the petitioner alleges is unconstitutional and violates the Rajasthan Municipal Act, 2009.
Advocate Puneet Singhvi, representing Lodha, argued that the Supreme Court has held that local body elections can only be delayed in exceptional circumstances, such as natural disasters.
"There is no such justification in the current case. The government has failed to uphold its constitutional obligation," Singhvi said
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