BUDGAM, July 24: Elected village heads of Kashmir have accused the government of sponsoring attacks that prompted many of them to resign from their posts.
Members of various Panchayats (village councils) Tuesday said that attackers who targetted them were not militants but “government sponsored gunmen”.
Last year, elections for grassroots’ representatives were considered an historic event in conflict-ridden Kashmir where tens of thousands have died in violence involving militants and security forces after an anti-India rebellion started more than two decades ago.
Appeals by separatists to boycott assembly and parliamentary elections have always had a huge impact in Kashmir, but the panchayat polls in 2011 saw humongous participation by people in the villages.
However, although militant groups chose not to interfere with the electoral process, yet Sarpanchs and Panchs have been targetted by unidentified gunmen ever since.
A common perception that militants could have changed their mind and were behind the attacks gained ground after posters claiming to be issued by militant groups asked them to resign from their posts or “face consequences”.
However a Sarpanch of Nagam Block in central Kashmir’s Budgam district said, “The attacks on us were definitely staged by the authorities. They failed to empower us on all fronts. Moreover we were also considered a threat by many in the administration, even the government tacitly admits that.”
“These attacks and poster campaigns were all a handiwork of the government,” said another Sarpanch from Chrari Sharief, Muhammad Yusuf Dar.
The village heads were speaking at a one-day convention of Panchs and Sarpanchs at Budgam town to oversee the status of implementation of the empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions. The convention was addressed by the the Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar, concerned MLA, Aga Syed Ruyhullah among others.
Sagar also blamed bureaucrats in Kashmir for “not cooperating with Panchayat representatives” and said that they have been sabotaging the implementation of Panchayat Raj Act across the state.
The new doubts among these elected village heads could prove to be an embarassment for the government which is already facing a lot of criticism over laxity in empowerment of these representatives by virtue of implementing the 73rd and the 74th amendment of the Panchayati Act.
Around 33,500 sarpanches and panches were elected across the state last year after a gap of over almost three decades.
