Will consider contesting J&K polls if demands not met: AJKPC

SRINAGAR: All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) today said it was contemplating to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state if the government did not increase the honorarium of the panchayat members within one week.

"If the state government does not enhance the honorarium of the sarpanches and panches to Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 per month respectively, we will teach them a lesson in the forthcoming Assembly elections," AJKPC chairman Mohammad Shafiq Mir told reporters here.

Mir said the Panchayat Conference will field its own candidates on all Assembly segments if their demand is not met by the state government within the stipulated time.

He also demanded the state government to ensure the security of 33,000 panchayat members before the Assembly elections scheduled later this year.

"The Assembly election drama is going to be staged soon. The state government should ensure our security before that as panchayat members have been targeted by unidentified gunmen during the Lok Sabha polls in the state," Mir added.

He also demanded an impartial and fair investigation into the killing of panchayat members in the state over the past three years.