In Bandipora, yet another Panchayat building was set on fire. The cops have said that with this incident the number of such incidents has risen to eight.
“Unknown miscreants tried to set ablaze a panchayat ghar at Matrigam Tikri in the Pehthkote area of Banipora district in north Kashmir Monday,” a police official said.
He said the fire resulted in partial damage to the building. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot as soon as the news of the incident was received, the official said.
He said this was the eighth such incident in which a panchayat ghar has been set on fire since the polls for municipal bodies and panhcayats were announced in the state.
Both the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, the two biggest regional political outfits have decided to boycott the elections as they have asked the Government of India to clear its stand on the issue of Article 35-A.
Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh recently appealed political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to participate in the upcoming Panchayat and local body polls.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also decided not to participate in the polls keeping in view the prevailing situation in the valley.
State Secretary CPI(M) Ghulam Nabi Malik, in a statement said that despite majority of mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir deciding not to participate in these polls shows the arrogance of the BJP-led Central Government.
The Joint Resistance Leaders (JRL) while reiterating their call of ULB, Panchayat polls said that it is a “political gimmick to hoodwink international community”.
Congress, however decided to take part in the polls to keep ‘communal forces away.’
Moreover Sajad Lone’s Poeples Conference has also decided to take part in the upcoming civic polls.
The state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that the regional political parties have boycotted the upcoming Municipal and Panchayat elections due to fear, and added that they have apprehensions that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National conference (NC) will field proxy candidates in the polls.
