Rahul Gandhi vows to fight for empowerment of panchayats

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has expressed his displeasure at some states like Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand not delegating power to panchayats and pledged that he will fight for empowerment of the rural bodies.

"Panchayat elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, but power has not been delegated to the rural bodies. And in Jharkhand also panchayats have not got power," he said at a meeting or Jharkhand Pradesh Youth Congress meeting in Bokaro yesterday.

Jharkhand Youth Congress president Jai Mangal Singh, who had attended the meeting in Bokaro, said, "Rahulji told us he would fight for the rights of panchayats after he learnt that devolution of powers has not yet taken place in Jharkhand."

"Rahulji was disappointed when he learnt that panchayat bodies have not yet been given power to execute developmental work in Jharkhand too even after nearly two years of elections," Congress leader Butter Sardar who attended one of Gandhi's meetings, said here today.

During his just-concluded meeting with the panchayat representatives in Ranchi, Gandhi wondered why panchayat members did not get power soon after elections when MPs and MLAs get power soon after election.

The Arjun Munda government has already issued a list of powers delegating to panchayat bodies.