LUBNA FAYAZ
Srinagar (NVI): All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), the apex body of Panchayats in the Union Territory, has announced that it will contest all 280 seats of District Development Councils (DDCs) as independent candidates.
AJKPC chairman Shafiq Mir said that by amending the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, the government has opened the door for the entry of politicians in this institution at the third stage. “But we will not allow them to enter our institution; that is why we have decided to field independent candidates on all 280 DDC seats, for which the preparation is in final stages,” he said.
Addressing a press conference here yesterday, a large number of Panchayat leaders led by Shafiq Mir said that they will not allow the politicians to enter in Panchayati institutions “because these are the people who have always been against the PRI system in Jammu and Kashmir.”
-ARK
