Pratibha Singh not allowed to hold meeting in school of adopted Kullu village

Our Correspondent

Kullu, June 28

Mandi MP and HPCC president Pratibha Singh was yesterday not allowed to hold a public meeting at a school at Gahar village, which she has adopted under the MP Adarsh Gram Yojana, in Kullu district. Panchayat office-bearers had set up a pandal at the Gahar village school but the programme was not held, as according to the orders of the High Court public meetings are not allowed in schools. As a result, the meeting was arranged in the courtyard of the panchayat building in a hurry. However, people, including public representatives, faced problems, as the panchayat building is not spacious.

Gahar panchayat president Rohit Vats, while addressing mediapersons here today, said that the Additional District Magistrate informed him that such an event could not held on the school premises as per the High Court orders. He added that many other such events take place on the school ground and this programme was a government event. The programme was not political and instead was meant to make people aware about the welfare schemes of the government under the MP Adarsh Gram Yojana.

Vats said that besides him, only three speakers (MP Pratibha, Kullu Additional DM and BDO) addressed the gathering. He added that permission was also taken from the school management committee for the programme.

He said that Jan Manch programmes were usually held in schools. He added that according to the High Court orders, only events related to a school could be held on its premises and holding other government events in schools was tantamount to contempt of court. He alleged that during the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations, which was a government event, many BJP local leaders had delivered speeches. The government should not adopt a dual policy.

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