By IANS,
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress Sunday declared that the high percentage of polling in the intial phases of the panchayat elections in the state marked the “victory of peace and democracy over violence”.
State Congress chief Saifuddin Soz hailed the over 80 percent voting in the polls as
a victory of Indian democracy and the peoples’ faith in it.
He was addressing a rally of party workers in Udhampur, 66 km north of Jammu.
The third phase of the 16-round polls was held Thursday. The panchayat polls are being held after a gap of 10 years.
Soz said the high voting in panchayat polls was a negation of the disruptive elements and the forces of violence in the state.
“The people have shown that they are not hostage to the elements who had dictated terms to them for more than 20 years,” he said.