Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said that his party will use the concept of decentralisation for organisational strengthening.
Interacting with officials and representatives of local bodies at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) here on Tuesday, he said the concept of decentralisation fitted well in the overall scheme of democratic organisational set-up.
“All political parties should adopt the decentralisation model. It will ensure that the parties reflect the will of the people at the grassroots. I will do my best to put into practice this principle in the Indian National Congress,” he said.
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He lauded Kerala’s achievements in decentralised planning and development. “The initiatives are worth emulating,”’ he said.
He agreed with the view of a section of participants that Central schemes, including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, should be local-specific. Participants in the discussion also stated that local bodies should have a say in implementation of projects using local area development funds of MPs and MLAs.
He stated that a team from Uttar Pradesh would soon visit KILA to study the decentralisation initiatives in Kerala. A presentation by P.P. Balan, director of KILA, preceded the discussion.
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Mr. Gandhi arrived at KILA around 11.15 a.m. and left for Ramanchira at Adattu around 12.50 p.m. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala and Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry accompanied him.
Mr. Gandhi was served ‘sadya’(traditional Kerala feast) at KILA.