No need for Centre to intervene: Venkaiah Naidu

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, SEPT. 30. It was up to the State Election Commissions to look into instances of auctioning of local body posts in panchayats, the Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, said today.

Terming such incidents in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere ``not healthy'' for the functioning of democracy, he said that since the Commissions did not receive any complaints, they were not in a position to take action.

Addressing presspersons here before leaving for Brisbane to attend a Commonwealth meet of Ministers, he said that there was no need for the Union Government to intervene in the matter. The State Election Commissions had enough powers to deal with the problems.

Asked if the MDMK staying away from the DMK alliance for the local body polls was not to the liking of the BJP, he said that the BJP ``would be happy if everyone came together.'' But then, there were peculiar problems which did not lead to such a happy situation, the BJP leader said.

Justifying the ban on the SIMI, Mr. Naidu said that the Union Government ``would not hesitate to take action'' against any organisation or association which tried to destabilise the country. He said that the Government had taken the Opposition into confidence on the issue. ``It was the Opposition which authorised the Prime Minister to take any action needed when he convened a meet of the leaders. Every step cannot be discussed with the Opposition,'' he said.

Mr. Naidu said that he had called for a meeting of State Ministers dealing with water supply and sanitation, on October 19 and 20, in view of the increasing water scarcity. ``Out of the 14.22 lakh habitations in the country, only 12.34 lakh habitations have access to potable water. As many as 20,538 villages are not covered by any scheme at all,'' he said.

The Ministry had set apart Rs. 2,010 crores to provide drinking water in rural areas.

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Section  : Southern States
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