Panchayat heads must have a say in selection of candidates,says Rahul

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday opined that political parties should bring in decentralisation in their functioning and in the process of selecting candidates for elections. Interacting with 20 selected representatives of the three-tier local bodies on ‘Kerala model of decentralisation’ at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration here,Rahul said that though panchayati raj institutions have brought in decentralisation in governance,the same has not happened in political parties,including the Congress and the CPM. “Decentralisation does not take place in political parties,’’ he said.

Rahul said panchayat presidents have become strong,“but,do you have any role in selecting candidates for the Assembly and Parliament elections”. “How many of you would be considered as candidates for such elections?” he asked. He said closed door parties should go for open process to change and adopt grassroots-level approach,instead of foisting the power from higher echelons in the political system.

He noted that the MPs and legislators’ local area development funds are against the spirit of decentralisation. Legislators and MPs should deliberate with the local bodies on the requirements of the project,instead of the present practice of allotting money according to their intentions.

The attending members of local bodies brought to his notice that many Central government-sponsored schemes were not fit for Kerala for want of state-specific stipulations. “He gave us a patient hearing,although did not make any affirmation on our concerns. What he mooted was convergence of the panchayti raj institutions with the initiatives of the MPs and legislators through their local area development fund,” said a member of the group that interacted with Rahul.