This is how the election commission of Uttarakhand functions.
It seems that the EC in the Pauri Garhwal district functions just in papers without going and doing surveys physically. And this fact has been substantiated with regard to the DANGI GRAM SABHA .The Gram Sabha of DANGI under the jurisdiction of Kaljikhal block in Pauri Garhwal district was declared as OBC Gram Sabha under the reserved category though since 2014 since 2014.
However, after more than eleven protracted years not a single electorates of this village was given the OBC certificate which clearly indicates that there is none of the OBC status in the village.
The Punchayat elections in Uttarakhand have been declared and candidates announced by various political parties.
The hectic campaigning too is under way with respective candidates propagating their candidatures to seek votes, but in the Gram Sabha DANGI under Kaljikhal block there is stunned silence as in a meeting held by the villagers they have expressed their inability to participate in this election because no-one has been issued the OBC certificate making them entitled to file nominations.
They have given a call to boycott this election forthwith.
A meeting was also held with the District Magistrate of Pauri Garhwal Ms. Swati S.Bhaduria who has recently joined there.
The villagers have complained that though the Gram Sabha has been declared of OBC stature not a single voter in the village has been accorded the OBC status since 2014 thus dis – enabling them to participate in the ongoing Punchayat elections in Uttarakhand.
The Pauri Garhwal DM after the meeting said that she will take up the matter at the helm of the state government and ensure that the issue is resolved at the earliest.
This is how the election commission works in Uttarakhand and this particular instance illustrates unambiguously that not only this but several other villages in Uttarakhand might also be confronting similar grievances, not enabling the grass roots voters to contest and vote for the candidates of their choice.
