 Early Times
JAMMU, June 9: All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Sarpanch by terrorists in Anantnag district, holding the BJP Government responsible for the incident.
Condemning the killing of Sarpanch Ajay Pandita, who was shot dead at his orchard in Lukbawan village Larkipora, Anantnag yesterday, Shafiq Mir, Chairman of the Panchayat Conference, said that Pandita was the 19th Panchayat member who has been killed in violence against Sarpanches.
Seeking high-level probe over the killing of a member of the Panchayat Conference, Mir said that this is high time for the BJP government at the Centre to step in to save the precious lives of the innocent 33,000 elected representatives.
“It was the need of the hour to hold a high-level inquiry into the killings of Panchayat members under a conspiracy. “From 2011 to 2020, at least 19 Panchayat members were killed while the fresh incident has again created a fear psychosis among Panchayat members,” Mir added.
“Such cowardly attacks would not deter the Panchayat Conference from strengthening democracy at the grassroots level,” Mir told reporters here.
Arun Sharma, Provincial President AJKPC said “We are left at the mercy of the terror outfit, our plea for security cover is lying unheard with the state government but for the reason best known to them no action has been taken yet. Perhaps they are waiting for another untoward incident.”
Sharma demanded security for the Panchs and Sarpanches of J&K from the Central Government, and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take apt action in this regard.
“This is the responsibility of the Central Government to provide security to panchayat leaders of Jammu and Kashmir. This is not the killing of Panch or Sarpanch, this is the killing of the basic pillar of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir which is most threatened in this area,” he said.
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