NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday asserted that the Panchayat elections should not cause bitterness among people in villages. She said that the participation of women in Panchayats should also be larger than now.
At the National Panchayat Awards, the President said that the Panchayat elections at times cause bitterness and altercations in villages and that should not occurred in Panchayats. In Hindi, she said:”There is a provision for panchayat elections every five years so that all social groups can participate... However, it is seen that sometimes these elections cause bitterness among locals. To avoid this, political parties have kept away from panchayat elections”, she said.
At present, the Panchayat Raj polls in villages are held without involvement of any party’s symbol as non-party-based elections. Highlighting the Gujarat’s Samaras Gram Yojna, she said such scheme which avoids animosity and tension in society and groups was introduced in 2006 by then PM Narendra Modi.