Elect right candidates for Sarpanch posts: Naidu

Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday appealed to the people to elect right candidates as Gram Sarpanch during the ensuing Panchayat elections.

Addressing a press conference here, Naidu said that the empowerment of villages could lead to the effective development of rural India and therefore, people should be cautious in electing their representatives.

Naidu accused the Congress Government of weakening the local bodies in the State by not conducting elections on regular basis. He said of 64 powers devolved to the local bodies by the earlier TDP regime, the Congress Government has withdrawn 54 powers. Further, he said that the powers of Sarpanches too were reduced.

The TDP chief said that the real development of villages was possible only through empowerment of local bodies.