Chandigarh, Aug 31 (IANS) Less than a fortnight after dissolving over 13,000 gram panchayats in Punjab, the government on Thursday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it will withdraw the notification regarding the dissolution of gram panchayats in the state.
Appearing before the Bench headed by Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha, Advocate-General Vinod Ghai informed that the notification of dissolving the panchayats would be withdrawn in a day or two.
Earlier, the government defended the decision in the court, saying the gram panchayats were functioning not as per constitutional provision.
Eleven writ petitions were filed by representatives of the panchayat, questioning the decision to dissolve it.
One of the petitions stated that the gram panchayats have been dissolved under Section 29-A of Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, over five months prior to the completion of the five-year term.
The government had dissolved over 13,000 panchayats in the state, with civic body elections to be held in November.
Responding to the government decision, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said it is the victory of the democratic institutions.
Congress leader Bajwa said the AAP government was compelled to take back such an undemocratic decision only after it got pulled up by the High Court. The Congress also took a firm stand against this irrational decision and raised the issue on several platforms.
Bajwa applauded the positive role played by the High Court that forced the fake revolutionaries (AAP) to withdraw their reckless decision.
“The credibility of our democratic institutions hinges on fair and transparent processes that respect the rights of all citizens, regardless of political affiliations. Therefore, the AAP had no right to tinker with democratic values,” Bajwa said in a statement.
Bajwa said the rights of 100,312 elected representatives, including 41,922 women, had been compromised due to these decisions.
