Anna Hazare slams Thackeray govt seeking 'indirect sarpanch polls', calls it autocratic

Slamming Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Indian freedom struggle leader Anna Hazare, on Monday stated that indirect sarpanch polls were threatening democracy and entering autocracy, in a press statement. He added that freedom fighters who laid ir lives from 1857 to 1947 dreamed to expel British tyranny to set up a democracy. government is set to table indirect sarpanch polls bill during budget session of Maharashtra Assembly.

Bill on indirect sarpanch poll to be tabled in Maha Assembly

Anna Hazare slams 'indirect Sarpanch polls' 

Highlighting importance of Gram Sabha polls, Hazare invoked Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts on electoral democracy. Stating that once a person turns 18, he becomes a part of Gram Sabha, Hazare said that it was a natural and organic body. Moreover, he reminded that Gram Sabha voters who elect Legislative Assembly MLAs and Lok Sabha MPs.

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He added that while above-mentioned legislative assemblies changed every five years, Gram Sabha was permanent. Elaborating on various Gram Sabhas, he said each voter of Gram Sabha change MLAs and members of district, thus changing vill Gram Panchayat. He concluded that as Garm Sabha was supreme, sarpanch must be elected by voters and t political party representatives, as proposed in bill.

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What is 'indirect sarpanch polls'?

Maharashtra government will table a bill in Budget session of Assembly to reverse an earlier decision under which people directly elected vill sarpanch (headman). rule for direct election of sarpanch was brought in by previous BJP-led Devendra Fadnavis government amending respective clauses of Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act of 1958 to facilitate election of a sarpanch (gram panchayat heads) directly from among people of vill. But Uddhav Thackeray-led government seeks its reversal which has been stalled by Goverr BS Koshyari, who refused to sign promulgation of an ordinance on this.

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