Government may stall court order to hold civic polls by making school teachers file petition opposing directive
Government may stall court order to hold civic polls by making school teachers file petition opposing directive
While the Supreme Court has asked the state government to hold the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls in time, the government is planning to use schoolteachers as a tool to avoid holding the elections.
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Mera number kab aayega? Former city mayors submit memorandums to the governor seeking early civic polls. File pic |
A recent high court order has directed the government to conduct civic polls by March 30. It was required to notify the court about ward wise reservations by February 20. The government moved the Supreme Court, saying it could not follow the order, as it is exam season and teachers, who are required to put in some hours of mandatory election duty, could not be made to help during the civic polls.
Petition quashed
The apex court quashed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the government that sought permission to follow the high court ruling, on Monday.
"The state government's game plan is to get schoolteachers and government employees to petition the government and the court to be excused from election duty because they already have a lot on their hands.
After the petition is made, the cabinet will postpone the polls," explained a senior BJP leader.
When contacted R Ashoka, one of the city in-charge ministers, who is lobbying hard to postpone the polls, said, " It is not so easy to go against the court order. But, it is our duty to help the teachers if they come to us with a problem."
Ashoka is the city in-charge minister along with Katta Subramnya Naidu, who holds portfolios including IT and excise and the duo are using every trick in the book to stall the polls.
Three years
In the absence of an elected civic body, the authority to spend Rs 22,000 crore allotted to the city by the centre under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It is over three years since the last elected council was dissolved before appointing an administrator.
Former mayors under the leadership of PR Ramesh have been waging a legal battle so the polls are held soon. Their efforts are yet to yield any fruit. "It is shame that two ministers are stalling the democratic process to protect their selfish interests. The system appears helpless to check them," said Ramesh, who was in New Delhi for the case being fought in the Supreme Court. The state government failed to notify the ward wise reservations to the court on Monday. "They had to notify the by February 20. While we suspect that this amounts to contempt of court, we are submitting a interlocutory application to bring this to high court's notice," said G R Chikmat, the state election commissioner.
