Ramesh Oraon Submits Memorandum to Congress In-charge K. Raju Demanding Implementation of PESA Act
Ranchi: — At the Ranchi Circuit House, Senior Congress leader, Ramesh Oraon, met the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee in-charge, K. Raju, and submitted a memorandum highlighting various demands. During the discussion, Ramesh Oraon said that the central government had passed the PESA Act on 24 December 1996 and included it in the Constitution. The Act clearly provided that within one year, the concerned states would formulate and implement PESA rules as per their convenience. If any state failed to frame and implement the rules within a year, the Act would be deemed automatically applicable.
Ramesh Oraon stated that the PESA Act was to be implemented in ten states of the country, of which eight states have already formulated their rules and enforced it. Unfortunately, however, Jharkhand and Odisha have not yet implemented the PESA Act. He added that the INDIA alliance government in Jharkhand had promised in its election manifesto that implementation of the PESA Act would be its first priority after coming to power. However, this promise remains unfulfilled to date, which is extremely unfortunate for the people of Jharkhand. He urged the Congress in-charge to put pressure on the state government to ensure the swift implementation of the PESA Act in Jharkhand.
In addition, Ramesh Oraon demanded that the Congress Party put pressure on the central government for the early implementation of the Sarna Dharma Code. Several other important issues were also discussed. K. Raju, Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee in-charge, assured that the government would soon take action on all these points. After the meeting, an extensive discussion was also held at the Ranchi Press Club with senior Congress leaders, MLAs, and ministers. He said there is no need to worry about this matter, as the government is working in the best interest of the public. Senior advocate and Congress leader Vinod Kumar Singh was also specially present on the occasion.
