Jaipur, Oct. 27 -- Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the BJP-led state government of violating constitutional provisions and Supreme Court directives by not conducting timely elections for Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gehlot said the state government was "disregarding Dr BR Ambedkar's Constitution and Supreme Court orders." He cited Articles 243-E and 243-U of the Constitution, which mandate elections for rural and urban local bodies every five years, with no provision to extend their tenure beyond that period. Gehlot also referred to Supreme Court judgments in the Goa Government vs. Fouzia Imtiaz Sheikh and Punjab State Election Commission vs. Punjab Government cases, which emphasized the necessity of holding Panchayati Raj elections every five years. "The BJP government in Rajasthan has appointed administrators after the tenure of Panchayati Raj and municipal bodies ended, instead of conducting elections. This is a direct violation of constitutional provisions," Gehlot said. He said that by appointing administrators, the state has paralysed grassroots governance, defeating the very purpose of decentralisation through Panchayati Raj and municipal systems. "New leadership that emerges from these elections is being stifled merely because the BJP fears defeat," he added, calling the move an assault on democracy and the Constitution. Echoing Gehlot's remarks, former minister and senior Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas termed the appointment of administrators in the three major municipal corporations "illegal and undemocratic." "This step is a direct attack on the rights of the people and goes against the spirit of democracy. The BJP government is deliberately delaying civic and panchayat elections in the name of 'One State, One Election," he said. Khachariyawas also warned that the administrator system would result in a highly negative affect on crucial public services such as the issuance of birth and death certificates, sanitation, as well as other civic functions under the corporations' jurisdiction. "People are already suffering under the BJP government's corruption. Now, with administrators in place, inspector raj will take over, leading to open corruption in corporations and panchayats," he added. Rajasthan has appointed divisional commissioners as administrators for the merged municipal corporations in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Kota, whose tenures end on November 9. This is the first time senior IAS officers are heading urban bodies instead of district collectors or municipal commissioners. Under the "One State, One Election" plan, the state intends to hold simultaneous elections for all municipal corporations, with tenures of 50 corporations due to end in December 2025, 90 in January 2026, and one in February 2026. Responding to the attacks by Congress leaders, BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bharadwaj said that the Congress government had previously tampered with the delimitation of wards and boards of municipal and Panchayati Raj bodies in an arbitrary manner, holding elections seven separate times. He added that the current government was correcting these irregularities and conducting elections as per the Constitution. He also accused the Congress of undermining the Constitution in the past....