Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has raised serious concerns regarding the sarpanch pati or panchayat pati practice in India. This system involves elected women serving as mere figureheads while their male relatives exercise actual power. Chadha highlighted this issue in Parliament and urged the government to ensure that women representatives can use their authority as intended by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
What is the Sarpanch Pati practice and why is it a concern?
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment mandated 33 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions to include their voices in local governance. However, in many cases, women are elected only to meet the legal requirement while their husbands or male relatives handle all administrative and decision-making tasks. Raghav Chadha pointed out that this proxy governance defeats the purpose of the reservation and sidelines roughly one-third of the 31 lakh elected representatives who are women. He emphasized that the law intended for these women to hold lawful administrative and executive authority rather than being a front for male family members.
Key actions and statements against proxy governance
Several authorities and government bodies have taken a stand against this practice to protect the democratic rights of women in local bodies. The details of these stances are mentioned below:
- NHRC Stance: The National Human Rights Commission considers proxy governance contrary to the Constitution and a potential form of criminal misconduct under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
- Ministry Campaign: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) recently launched the Say No To Proxy Sarpanch social media campaign to empower women leaders and raise nationwide awareness.
- Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of India has categorically deprecated this unconstitutional and unlawful practice in various observations.
- Advisory Committee: A committee set up by the MoPR has recommended exemplary penalties for proven cases of proxy leadership and the creation of a reporting mechanism.
- PM Modi’s View: In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an end to the sarpanch pati practice to allow women to exercise their legal rights.
