Bengaluru: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill that seeks to provide for the constitution of delimitation commission, and take away the State Election Commission’s (SEC) power in carrying out the exercise, amid a Congress walk out.
The decision to set up a delimitation commission to redraw taluk and zilla panchayat constituencies, though the exercise has already been completed by the SEC, has given rise to suspicion that the government’s intention is to postpone the panchayat polls.
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Opposition Congress including its leader Siddaramaiah and H K Patil said that the government’s intention with this bill is to put off the impending taluk and zilla panchayat elections. However, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy defending the bill said, it is being brought to have a separate commission for delimitation, pointing out that nowhere in India the SEC had powers on delimitation.