Modi government finished Panchayati Raj system: Congress
New Delhi, April 24: Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan on Tuesday, the Congress party said the Modi government has systematically finished the Panchayati Raj System by starving Panchayats of funds.
The party urged the Prime Minister to stop invoking Mahatma Gandhi's name in his "fake jumlas" and stop fooling the people by renaming schemes. It pointed out that Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan had now been rechristened as the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
"During the last four years Narendra Modi government has systematically annihilated the entire Panchayati Raj System in the country by starving the panchayats of funds and making them beggars before respective state governments," said Congress spokesperson P.L. Punia.
"By discontinuing the centrally-sponsored Schemes, like Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) and de-capacitating schemes like MNREGA, Rajiv Awas Yojana, Anganwadi and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Modi government ensured that the Panchayati Raj institutions do not have any funds," he said.
"The government, for all practical purposes, shut down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj by draining it of any substantive budgetary allocations."
According to him, the Modi government and many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states have failed to bring about any incremental legislation that could ensure 50 per cent reservation for women.
"Regressive legislations in Rajasthan and Haryana with regard to educational qualifications only ended up ensuring that already marginalised people became ineligible from contesting elections on grounds of insufficient qualification," said the Congress leader.
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Himachal’s Sammoo village does not celebrate Diwali due to centuries-old 'curse’; Here’s why
Hamirpur: The residents of Sammoo village in Hamirpur district located in Himachal Pradesh are continuing a centuries-old tradition of not celebrating Diwali. No houses are lit during the festival, no special dishes are prepared, and no sounds of crackers are heard.
This is an ancient custom that people have been following for ages due to the fear of a curse from a woman who committed Sati on Diwali, according to a PTI report.
The legend goes that, many years ago, the woman who had left for her parent's home to celebrate Diwali received news that her husband, a soldier in the king's court, had died. The woman, who was pregnant, was devastated and burnt herself on her husband's pyre. It is believed she cursed the villagers, declaring that they would never again be able to celebrate Diwali.
As a result, the village has not celebrated the festival since, with elders reportedly warning younger generations that celebrations would invite misfortune, disaster, and deaths.
Bhoranj panchayat pradhan Pooja Devi stated that since she got married and moved to this village, she has never witnessed Diwali being celebrated. “Even if the villagers settle outside, the curse of the women won’t leave them. Some years ago, a family from the village settled far away were preparing some local dishes for Diwali when their house caught fire. The people of the village only worship Sati and light diyas in front of her,” Pooja Devi was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The report also cited another village elder, who has lived through more than 70 Diwalis without celebration, mentioning that whenever someone attempts to celebrate, tragedy strikes the village.
“For hundreds of years, people have refrained from celebrating Diwali. On the day of Diwali, if a family, even by mistake, bursts crackers and makes dishes at home, then disaster is sure to happen,” the report quoted another villager.
The people in the village have tried a lot of measures, such as havans and yagyas, to get rid of the curse. However, nothing has reportedly worked.
