The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday criticised the election of Congress leader Deviprasad Shetty as the president of the Belapu Gram Panchayat.
In a press release issued here, Kuilady Suresh Nayak, president of Kaup BJP Assembly unit, said that Mr. Shetty had himself announced in a press conference a few days ago that he would not contest for the post.
Drama
But, on June 30, there was a “drama” and as Congress-supported candidates had won a majority in the gram panchayat elections, they threatened to resign if Mr. Shetty was not chosen as president. This led to his election as president, Mr. Nayak said. Though the post of president was reserved for Backward Classes ‘A,’ two elected candidates from this category refused to contest. Then, Mr. Shetty submitted his nomination papers stating that he belonged to Backward Classes ‘B.’
Mr. Shetty had been the president of the gram panchayat for long except for the past couple of years.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner R. Vishal told The Hindu that as per rules, if there was no candidate from Backward Classes ‘A,’ then the next chance went to the candidates of Backward Classes ‘B.’
