CHANDIGARH: The opposing stand of Punjab Congress on the matter of indirect elections of Sarpanches has been vindicated with over 40% of village panchayats yet to elect their Sarpanches although elections to the grassroots level democracy had been held about 5 months back.

Punjab Leader of Opposition  Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, in a statement, here today, said that more than 4500 villages were yet to elect their Sarpanches due to political interference and other technicalities. She said that a part from weakening the filament of rural social fabric, indirect elections of Sarpanches had led to fisticuffs, quarrels, division on party line, discrimination and above all injustice, which was uncalled for and unwanted. She said that many incidents have come to the fore that many panchayats were having majority of Panches aligned to Congress Party, but Rural Development Officers at the behest of ruling SAD-BJP combine were not notifying their election as Sarpanch.

Bhattal quipped that the Congress had no objection to the election of Scheduled Casts Sarpanches if no proposer was forthcoming, but in case of general category, election of Sarpanch without proposer was not acceptable to the Party as this would lead to political victimization and administrative interference under directions of political masters. She said that uncertainity prevailed at every level in the Panchayat system and it hampers the development in villges.