Shimla, February 7: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led government in Himachal Pradesh, accusing Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of “strangling democracy” by repeatedly postponing Panchayat elections in the state.
In a joint media statement issued by Shimla District BJP President Keshav Chauhan, District Spokesperson Jitendra Bhotka, former Vice President of the Saksham Gudiya Board Rupa Sharma, Rajendra Singh Jhinna, Shashank Atri, Ramesh Sharma and other party leaders, the BJP alleged that the continued delay in conducting Panchayati Raj elections reflects an “authoritarian mindset.”
The party leaders said that in a democracy, governance must be guided by the will of the people, not by what they termed as political dogma. They accused the state government of making the postponement of Panchayat Raj elections a matter of prestige and claimed that approaching the Supreme Court, despite directions from the High Court, has led to unnecessary expenditure of public funds.
Questioning the justification of holding back elections in the name of disaster, BJP leaders asked how long the state government intends to delay the democratic process. They pointed out that in earlier decades, when road and electricity infrastructure was far weaker, elections were conducted without interruption.
The BJP further alleged that while ministers publicly assure that Panchayat and local body elections will be held on schedule, behind the scenes efforts are made to defer them. The party claimed that the delay has stalled grassroots development and undermined the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj.
Warning of political consequences, the BJP stated that the state government would have to answer to the people in the 2027 Assembly elections for what it described as injustice toward various sections of society.
The Congress government has not yet issued an official response to the allegations.
