Jana Sena Party leader and social activist Satya Bolisetti on Sunday said he would approach the High Court against introduction of the village and ward secretariats to dilute the powers vested with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.
Dig at Vijaya Sai
Reacting to the reported claim by YSRCP general secretary and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy at a meeting here on Saturday that 90% of the grama/ward volunteers selected were from the ruling party, he told The Hindu that he would file a PIL against attempts to dilute the local bodies.
“Instead of appointing politically-motivated people at tax-payers’ money, it is the bounden duty of the elected government to strengthen the panchayat and municipal system,” he said, and expressed shock that Mr. Reddy himself went on record claiming that most of those selected were from his party.
Mr. Satyanarayana said former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had tried to weaken the local bodies by appointing the Janmabhoomi committees with his party cadres. “Now, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is trying to replicate the same by recruiting his own partymen in another form,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, MLA Gudivada Amarnath alleged that the Opposition was trying to mislead the people with false information. “Mr. Naidu had written an open letter against the recruitments to tarnish the image of the government. The village/ward secretariats are being formed to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of complete decentralisation and volunteers are being recruited on ‘merit basis in transparent manner,” he said.
