India News | Khandu Promises More Power to Local Bodies if BJP Wins Polls

Itanagar, Dec 10 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday vowed to make the panchayat and municipal bodies people-centric by giving them more powers.

Kicking off the election campaign for panchayat and municipal polls at Naharlagun, Khandu thanked the people of the state for electing unopposed 5,464 BJP candidates to the local bodies.

Also Read | Sharad Pawar to Replace Sonia Gandhi as UPA Chairperson? NCP Denies, Calls Media Reports ‘Unsubstantiated’.

"The support shown by the people of Arunachal is historic and is unprecedented in the history of local body elections in the state," he said.

The chief minister said such a mandate was possible because the voters are intelligent and witnessed the performance of the BJP.

Also Read | CBSE Exams 2021 Dates and Schedule Not Released, Datesheet of Class 12th Examination Circulating on Social Media is ‘Fake’: Official Notice.

"There was a time when Northeast was neglected. But today the visit of central ministers to Northeast is frequent, prompting development activities to go on in full swing," he said.

"Under BJP, all big pending projects have been completed and many others are on the verge of completion. Besides development, BJP has also focused on transformation and bringing transparency in governance," Khandu added.

The chief minister appealed to the people to vote for BJP as he felt that this election is crucial for making the Smart City project a successful venture.

"Itanagar, being the face of Arunachal, it is our duty to keep the capital clean, orderly and beautiful," he said and promised to improve the law and order situation in the city.

He assured to increase CCTV installations and street lights all over the city, including the four-lane highway. Khandu also promised to get all sectorial roads paved.

The chief minister said that the airport was languishing for a decade, but work has finally started after much effort went into resolving the pending issues, finalising the site and completing the ground survey.

Under BJP, he said, the railway services to the state capital region have also improved.

Assuring more powers to the local bodies, the chief minister said the BJP government believes in decentralisation.

Khandu said the municipality at present has power over 13 subjects and if the party wins the polls, it will be extended to 20 subjects.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)