Sagar/Damoh (Madhya Pradesh): In order to increase the participation of women in Panchayati Raj, the government has reserved 50 per cent posts for women and is running many schemes and programs for women empowerment. While on the other hand, these efforts of the government are being sabotaged in the rural areas.
In a recent incident in Sagar and Damoh, the husband, brother-in-law and father of the elected women in the Gram Panchayat elections have taken oath in their place. When the matter came to light and the Panchayat secretaries were asked about this, they were seen giving ambiguous answers.
In Sagar's Gram Panchayat Jaisinagar, the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Sarpanch, Deputy Sarpanch and Panch was held in Panchayat office on Thursday. A total of 21 members including the Panch and Sarpanch have been elected here, out of which 10 women have been elected as Panch. But, in the swearing ceremony, only 3 women out of the 10 were present.
In the absence of women Panch, a woman's brother-in-law took the oath, and the father and husbands of other women Panchs took the oath. Despite having information about the absence of Women Panch, Gram Panchayat Secretary Asharam Sahu administered the oath to the brother-in-law, father and husbands instead of the women.
When the village secretary Asharam Sahu was questioned about this practice, his answers remained ambiguous. When the Panchayat Secretary was asked whether there is any such provision in the Panchayati Raj Act -- that if the elected representative is not present during the swearing-in, whether or not his/her relatives can take the oath in their place -- he had no concrete answers. "Even after repeated requests, the Panch women did not appear, so their families were sworn in," he said.
The husband of elected woman Sarpanch Lalita Ahirwar of Gasabad, which comes under Hatta Janpadh Panchayat of Damoh, was seen taking the oath, after which people were seen welcoming the 'Sarpanch-Pati'. Lalita has been elected for the post of Sarpanch, but the village Panchayat Secretary, Dhun Singh Rajput, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vinod Ahirwar, the husband of the woman sarpanch. The officials have been avoiding saying anything in this regard.
