The flip-flop by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab surrounding the ‘panchayats’ — dissolving all ‘panchayats’ across the State and, days later, rolling back its ‘technically flawed’ decision — appears to have left the State government red-faced and given the Opposition parties ammunition to target Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
On August 31, the State government informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it was withdrawing its decision to dissolve the ‘panchayats’ during the hearing of a petition challenging the government’s order, notified on August 10. The State government had issued a notification on August 10, dissolving all ‘gram panchayats’, ‘panchayat samitis’, and ‘zila parishads’ in the State. The order also stated that the general election of the members of ‘panchayat samitis’ and the ‘zila parishads’ would be held by November 25, 2023, and those of the ‘gram panchayats’ would be held by December 31, 2023.
