Conduct local body polls without delay, urges Left

In a resolution adopted at the CPI (M) secretariat meeting here, CPI (M) state secretary K Balakrishnan urged the state government to take steps to hold the local body polls as per the direction of the Supreme Court after addressing all the shortcomings. 

“The Supreme Court has directed the State Election Commission to notify the local body polls before December 13. Even after that the ruling AIADMK government has not taken any steps to hold the election properly. Thousands of complaints have been raised over the state-wide delimitation exercise carried out for the election,” the resolution said, adding that the state had changed the direct election to indirect election at the last minute. 

As against the rules stating that creation of separate district panchayat for the bifurcated districts, the state has declared that the election would be held as per the old boundary, it said, noting that reservation of seats for the Dalits, tribals and women were not properly implemented. “By creating all these confusions, the AIADMK government hopes to postpone the elections by some court intervention. AIADMK government’s attempt is nothing but to scuttle the elected representatives from heading the local bodies,” it said. 

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan demanded that the local bodies poll should be held in a single phase rather than the phased election. “The boundaries of the local bodies in the newly created districts should be finalised and reservation should be followed,” he said.