"Cornering the sarpanch and the ward member posts in an auction is nothing but a mockery of the electoral process and democracy," commented state Lok Satta Party president Katari Srinivasa Rao on Tuesday.
"Leaders should come to power by winning the hearts and minds of people, and not by deploying money power," said Srinivasa Rao.
The Lok Satta president referred to media reports of panchayat posts being auctioned off in districts like West Godavari and Karimnagar, and appealed to all democrats to condemn this deplorable (in his words) practice.
He said that the Lok Satta Party will field candidates at places where the party has some strength, in order to thwart such rigged unanimous elective processes.
Katari also went ahead and said that, in other places, the party will support candidates who oppose such auctions.
Srinivasa Rao also demanded that the State Election Commission look into this issue. (INN)
filed in:Katari Srinivasa Rao, Elections, Local Body Elections, Lok Satta Party, Corruption