Panchayat Members Protest Against the Proposed Amendment that Usurps the Rights of the Grama Sabhas

 ‘Participation is our constitutional right’

‘Do not axe the right of people to participate’

‘We will not accept any move to harm the supreme powers of the Grama Sabha’

These were some of the messages from the first ever Taluk level rally against the recent amendment that is proposed to the Panchayat Act in the State. Over 300 elected members of the Panchayat, office bearers and representatives of the civil society took part in this protest march at Kundapur Taluk of Udipi district. They included representatives from all political parties and a large number of women who took part in the agitation.   

“The amendment to the Panchayat Act passed by legislature is an attempt to curtail the rights of the Grama Sabha. We have organised this protest rally to raise public awareness regarding this proposed amendment which violates our constitutional rights and to request our honourable governor not give his assent to it.’ said the protagonists. They have handed their submission addressed to the Honourable Governor of Karnataka to the Assistant Commissioner of Kundapur, Sri. Prabhakar Sharma. They will also be holding special Grama Sabhas to discuss about the proposed amendment and pass resolutions against it for submission to the Governor of our State. Their collective voice of protest, they hope, will inspire similar struggles in other parts of the State to preserve democracy.

This rally has been organised by the ‘Gram Swaraj Samrakshana Vedike, Kundapur’ a forum to protect decentralised governance. The rural programme of the Concerned for Working Children that has been actively engaged with local governments and civil society participation for over two decades has taken a lead role in this programme.