With the term of gram panchayats (GPs) scheduled to end on May 24, the State Congress has urged the government to extend their term for another six months as per the law, since it will not be possible to hold elections due to COVID-19 crisis.
The government is expected to take a decision on this in a day or two, official sources said. Addressing presspersons, Congress leaders D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah urged the government to continue the term of the members for six months. They opposed the BJP government’s alleged attempt to nominate its party members to GPs through Deputy Commissioners. Elections to rural local bodies (GPs) were not held on party symbols, and the Congress would stage protests in case the government started to nominate its party members to GPs, they warned.
