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Panchayat Raj Bill: Patil hopeful of getting governor's nod

Said both the Houses of legislature had passed the bill unanimously after a deliberation and there was consensus while doing so

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Gururaj Jamkhandi Dharwad
Last Updated : Apr 22 2015 | 9:37 PM IST
Minister for rural development and panchayat raj H K Patil expressed confidence that Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala would encourage the efforts of the legislature to strengthen democracy and give his assent to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2015 that seeks to make voting in the gram panchayat elections compulsory.

Speaking to Business Standard at Dharwad on Wednesday, Patil said the governor had sought some clarifications on the bill that has been sent for his approval. "The advocate general will be giving his opinion and I am hopeful that our constitutional head (governor) will encourage every small and big step that the legislature takes to make the democracy more participatory and healthy," Patil asserted.

He said, both the Houses of legislature had passed the bill unanimously after a deliberation and there was consensus while doing so. The mood of the people to strengthen the democracy needs to be encouraged and appreciated, Patil said. On whether making voting compulsory would not violate the Fundamental Right, Patil said the right to vote given by the statute is to be looked at its own way and not to be compared as fundamental right.

"In local body elections, the domicile and geographical location of the voter are the criteria. He has to vote in a particular ward. The Election Commissioner has introduced the concept of 'None of The Above' (NOTA) where a voter can refuse to vote in favour of any candidate contesting in that constituency and make his rejection known. The EC has appreciated it. These developments of democracy are to be understood in their right perspective," Patil said. He refused to comment on whether the governor's act of sending back the Bill for second time was politically motivated and insisted that he was hopeful of the governor honouring the legislature's unanimous decision.

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First Published: Apr 22 2015 | 8:21 PM IST

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