Think why people elected you, Minister tells reps

He was speaking at the inaugural function of workshop organised for the Gram Panchayat, Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat presidents and vice-presidents in BGS Hall at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology on Saturday.

Giving a lesson to the elected representatives, he said every representative who has won the election should ponder over why the people have voted and elected him. “Gram Panchayats are powerful weapons in the entire Panchayat system. It is in the hands of the Panchayat staff to eliminate people’s fear towards politicians,” he said.

Sarcastically stating how the people have lost respect towards politicians, he said “earlier the villagers used to throw their smoking ‘beedi’ when they confronted a politician. Now the things have changed so much that a villager would pick four more ‘beedis’ and leave the smoke on politicians face,” he remarked.

The respect that politicians once enjoyed has disappeared, but the respect can be regained by the grass root level politicians including gram panchayat representatives, he noted.
He said, the elected representatives are sick with diseases like corruption and nepotism. The diseases must be cured with strong injections, he said.

Meanwhile, he urged on the necessity to provide health, water and road facilities to the villages.

In his introductory speech, MLA C T Ravi said the elected representatives should dream and work towards the welfare of villages.