Dahod

Update: Next meeting has been called by Collector on December 26th with even more security arrangements.

The general body meeting of the newly elected Dahod district Panchayat to elect its president was postponed today as well, collector M A Gandhi said.

He said that since he has powers to suspend the meeting only twice as per the provisions of Panchayat act, he has now written to the development commissioner (the competent authority) to take a call on the next date of the meeting.

Police fired 12 teargas shells to control the situation after supporters of Congress and BJP clashed and set on fire vehicles after the election of president of Dahod district panchayat here was postponed yesterday.

Two cars and a bus were set on fire. Police had to resort to teargas shelling.

The meeting postponed yesterday was reconvened today, but there was again disturbance which forced district collector to postpone it again for indefinite period.

After polling last year, Congress won 26 while BJP 24 seats in this district panchayat.

BJP yesterday alleged that Congress had brought fake persons as elected candidates in the meeting to elect president and vice president of district panchayat body.

– DeshGujarat

PTI report:Election to Dahod district panchayat president post was today deferred indefinitely by the administration due to “chaos” during the process, even as the Congress alleged that police and administration was “indirectly” supporting the BJP.

In the last month’s Dahod district panchayat polls, Congress had won 26 and BJP got 24 seats.

“Yesterday, BJP members hurled abuse at us, threw chairs when we had gathered for the election. They claimed some of the elected members of Congress belonged to them. When we remained seated and did not react, all of them left and torched our bus,” said Sushila Moda, elected from Kharoda.

Police and the administration indirectly supported BJP members, at the behest of the state government, in the ruling party’s bid to seize control of the panchayat body, she said.

The election was to be held yesterday at the collector’s office in Dahod, but it was postponed till today after the Congress and BJP members got into a spat, followed by arson and stone-pelting. Police fired teargas shells as unidentified men torched three vehicles, including a bus, which had brought the Congress members to the venue.

But the election was postponed today too.

All the 26 Congress members arrived at party’s headquarters in the Ahmedabd today in the ‘Vajra’ bus provided by the state police for security reasons.

The members alleged at a press conference here that BJP members were trying every trick in the book to capture the district panchayat though Congress had won a majority.

“Yesterday, BJP members hurled abuse at us, threw chairs when we had gathered for the election. They claimed some of the elected members of Congress belonged to them. When we remained seated and did not react, all of them left and torched our bus,” said Sushila Moda, elected from Kharoda.

Police and the administration indirectly supported BJP members, at the behest of the state government, in the ruling party’s bid to seize control of the panchayat body, she said.

“All our belongings in the bus got burnt. All the 26 members including women spent the whole night in the office as the collector deferred the election till today. But BJP members once again resorted to same tactics and left the venue without participating in the election,” alleged Moda.

“Instead of holding a free and fair election, the collector today took the decision to postpone the poll for an indefinite period. It seems the administration is taking BJP’s side to make sure that our president is not elected,” she said.