Meet to discuss Panchayati Raj

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 15. The Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, will chair a meeting of all political parties in Delhi on May 19 to discuss the restoration of the three-tier structure of the Panchayati Raj, which is being demanded by several States.

The meeting will discuss the 87th Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1999 which was aimed at amending Article 243 C(2) (5) of the Constitution to provide discretion to State Legislatures to declare chairpersons of the lower tier of Panchayati Raj as members of the higher tier and to decide on the mode of elections.

In other words, the bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 16, 1999, proposed to replace the three-tier structure with a five-tier one. But it could not be passed due to opposition from the Congress and other parties.

The Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, told a press conference today that the meeting had been convened to review the issue in the light of suggestions made by Chief Ministers of several States in response to a letter sent by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, on December 21, 1999.

Mr. Naidu said that barring Arunachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Orissa and Rajasthan, all States had sent their response. The Centre was keen on bringing about a consensus on the issue among all political parties.

The Minister denied the suggestion that the current exercise by the Centre would interfere with the elections for Panchayati Raj institutions in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled by June end as per the directives of the Supreme Court. ``I don't think the election process can be halted. We are for the elections.''

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Section  : National
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