NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to deflect the charge of lack of democracy in the country back to the Congress, pointing to the party-ruled Puducherry where local body polls have not been held since 2011 despite Supreme Court observations. In sharp contrast, “free and transparent” District Development Council elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir in just over a year of the region becoming a union territory, he said.
Modi’s response came two days after Rahul Gandhi remarked that “there is no democracy in India; it’s only in imagination.” Speaking at the launch of the government health insurance scheme, PMJAY-SEHAT, for J&K, Modi said, “There are people in Delhi who give me lessons in democracy. They keep cursing Modi, while uttering unpalatable words. I want to show the mirror to such people.
Within a short time of the formation of the J&K UT, the local body elections have been successfully held. But the irony is that there’s no such election in Puducherry despite the Supreme Court directions.” The PM said that Puducherry is ruled by the “same set of people who give me lessons in democracy day and night”. “You will be surprised that the Supreme Court called for holding the panchayat elections in Puducherry in 2018, but the government there, which has not even an ounce of belief in democracy, is delaying the elections,” Modi said.
“It shows the gap between what some parties preach and what they do, and also highlights their commitment to democracy.” The Congress is in power in Puducherry, which is heading for the Assembly polls next year. The PM lauded the successful conclusion of the DDC elections in J&K, saying that it is the beginning of “a new decade, new era and new leadership”.
“We (the BJP) were part of the government in J&K earlier, but parted ways to push for the demands that the local body elections should be held there so that the people can get the power to take control of development works,” he said. Under the PMJAY SEHAT scheme, 21 lakh people in J&K will get the benefits of `5 lakh insurance coverage.