New Delhi, April 24 : The Congress party marked the National Panchayati Raj Day on Friday by recalling some landmark laws enacted by governments headed by Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh to boost grassroots democracy in villages.

Crediting Rajiv Gandhi for the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution on this day in 1993, Congress MP and Communications In-charge Jairam Ramesh said, â??This truly transformational initiative was due wholly to the insistence and persistence of Rajiv Gandhi.â??

â??It was he who ensured that one-third of the elected seats in Panchayati Raj institutions would be reserved for women, including for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities,â?? said the former Union Minister.

â??It was entirely his contribution that today there are around 32 lakh elected representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions, of whom about 15 lakh are women. This amendment (64th) had originally been introduced in mid-1989, but after passage in the Lok Sabha it could not pass in the Rajya Sabha because of the opposition of the BJP,â?? said Ramesh.

Highlighting the role of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in promoting Panchayati Raj institutions, Ramesh wrote on X, â??It was the Dr. Manmohan Singh government that had created the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in May 2004 and launched the historic MGNREGA in Feb 2006 that gave gram panchayats a pivotal role in planning and executionâ?¦â??

Ramesh said the 73rd Amendment brought by the Rajiv Gandhi government introduced the extraordinarily detailed Articles 243-A to 243-O in the Constitution to vastly empower panchayats and make them the foundations of our polity.

"Today, there are about 2.6 lakh gram panchayats, over 6,700 intermediate panchayats, and 673 zilla parishads,â?? he said.

In a veiled reference to the recent defeat of the amendment bill on womenâ??s quota, Ramesh said, â??The further revival of panchayats (and nagarpalikas that form Articles 243-P to 243-ZG) is far more urgent than simply increasing the strength of the Lok Sabhaâ?¦â??

/IANS