Gujarat BJP today felicitated more than 8,000 village heads (sarpanches), who won the recently held polls, and attributed the victory as people's endorsement of PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation move.
Though Gram Panchayat polls are not fought on party symbols, ruling BJP claims that 80 per cent elected representatives at more than 10,000 panchayats are associated with the party.
These "pro-BJP" village heads were today felicitated at a function at party headquarter here in the presence of senior party leaders, including state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and Union Minister Parshottam Rupala.
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Addressing the gathering, Vaghani claimed rural voters gave a "fitting reply" to Congress for it's stand on demonetisation.
"Congress mislead people on demonetisation by saying that people will vote against BJP for this decision. However, rural voters have rejected them and elected those who were associated with BJP," said Vaghani.
"This victory is an endorsement to our PM's decision. It is the beginning of the end for Congress in Gujarat," said Vaghani.
During the function, around 15 newly-elected village heads were invited on the stage and felicitated by the BJP leaders. These included Kantaben Patel, who has been elected as the sarpanch of Panchot village of Mehsana.
Earlier on December 21, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally near Panchot, where he slammed Modi for his decision to ban high currency notes.
Taking a jibe at Gandhi, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani urged state Congress leaders to organise some more rallies of Gandhi across Gujarat ahead of Assembly polls, slated to be held in the later part this year.
"Congress was defeated by BJP-supported sarpanch candidate in Panchot, where Gandhi addressed a rally. I urge state Congress leaders to arrange some more rallies in the state, as it will only help BJP. The Gram Panchayat results are just a trailer of Assembly polls. We are confident of winning with two-third majority," said Rupani.
Union Minister Rupala said the Centre is committed to provide maximum funds directly to Gram Panchayats for developmental works.
"Centre has alloted Rs 2 lakh crore to all the Gram Panchayats across the country this time. This fund will be directly given to these local bodies. It is the duty of sarpanchs to ensure its best utilisation," said Rupala.
He urged newly elected sarpanches and members to take part in the training sessions to understand the nuances for day-to-day functioning.
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