Representative image for elections.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) has urged the judiciary to take suo motu notice of the state government’s failure to hold elections to the five corporations.
A statement from the outfit said the government has failed to notify ward reservations for the five newly formed city corporations, despite the Supreme Court–mandated deadline of December 15.
The BNP pointed out that the government was originally required to complete the ward reservation process by November 30, including the notification of reservations for SC, ST, OBC and women.
"After failing to meet this deadline, the state government filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court seeking an extension until December 15, stating that additional time was required to collate data from the social and educational survey.
"However, as of December 18, the deadline has passed with no notification issued, no explanation offered and no revised timeline announced,” the BNP said in a statement.
Delay in elections effectively denies citizens their constitutional right to local self-governance, representatives from the BNP said.
"Whether it was the BJP stalling the BBMP polls in the past, or the Congress now using the new 'GBA' system as an excuse to avoid elections, their goal is exactly the same: They want to keep all the power in the hands of MLAs and government officers. They don't want to be answerable to the residents of Bengaluru.
"It is time we stop letting them treat our city like their private property and demand our right to vote. Bengaluru cannot be governed indefinitely by unelected officials and that every further delay weakens democracy and erodes public trust,” said Srikanth Narasimhan, founder and general secretary of BNP.