The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has decided to launch a series of agitations against what it terms the Left Democratic Front government’s attempts to undermine the functioning of local bodies by imposing financial restrictions on development works. The first phase will be launched on July 1 with an Assembly march under the auspices of various pro-Congress organisations in the local bodies.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened by KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran here on Wednesday, indicating that the party was eyeing the local body elections due next year. Congress representatives in the local bodies and Congress leaders in the respective area will organise a demonstration in front of all panchayat offices on July 10.
Inaugurating the meeting, Mr. Ramachandran said the Congress would also organise a series of programmes to mark the 25th anniversary of Panchayat Raj institutions. The KPCC will organise regional conferences in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode. The party will organise a “maha-panchayat” in Ernakulam on October 5.
Mr. Ramachandran said the government had gone all out to undermine the functioning of the local bodies. For the first time in the history of Panchayati Raj in Kerala, the Finance Department neither released any amount related to bills issued after March 22 nor sanctioned funds for spillover works from the previous financial year.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the government’s action of depriving local bodies from utilising funds under the Finance Commission awards had resulted in stalling of development works.
