CM has no right to demand more powers for states: Congress
Wednesday, 03/10/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121003/punjab.htm#6
Chandigarh : The Punjab Congress today claimed that by allocating 26 of the 55 government portfolios to his family members, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had forfeited the right to demand more powers for the states.
Senior Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said contrary to his demand for a decentralised power structure in the country, Badal had done the reverse in Punjab. “The concentration of ministries with the Badal family not only makes a mockery of collective responsibility but is also a disrespect to the people’s mandate,” Khaira said.
The Congress leader said elected institutions, from gram panchayats to the Vidhan Sabha, were virtually toothless and defunct under the present regime.
He said the CM continued to impose his will down to the gram panchayat level. “Holding Sangat Darshan is a perfect example of complete centralisation of powers where the CM bypasses all elected bodies, such as block samitis and zila parishads, to dole out grants to the panchayats himself. By doing so, he also renders the administrative set up from the BDPO to Deputy Commissioners redundant,” Khaira claimed.
The Congress leader said all development work was being done through halqa chiefs in place of duly elected legislators of the Opposition.
Also, deputy commissioners and district police chiefs had to seek prior approval of the CM for day-to-day functioning. Khaira said the CM should go in for fair distribution of government ministries besides implementing the 73rd and 74th Amendments in letter and spirit and present Punjab as a model decentralised state.
