Haryana to amend law for making education mandatory for contesting Panchayat polls

Haryana Government is firm on its stand to introduce educational qualification for contesting Panchayat polls. Finding the notification route blocked by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Haryana Government has said that it would introduce a bill to amend the Panchayati Raj Act for setting minimum qualification mandatory for contesting Panchayat elections. 

The Government made a statement in Punjab and Haryana High Court that the bill would be brought in the Monsoon Session of state assembly, scheduled to start on September 2. The BJP Government had decided to prescribe minimum academic qualification for contesting Panchayat polls in the state. Passing of class 10th was made mandatory for contesting Panchayat polls in general category. 

However, for women and schedule caste category candidates, the minimum educational qualification was prescribed as Class VIII. This decision of the government was challenged by a Hisar resident Ved Wanti and hearing the plea, High Court had restrained operation of a clause in the Panchayati Raj Act that made basic education mandatory for contesting Panchayat polls.

While the Haryana Government is claiming this bill to be a reformatory step for grass root level democracy. The main opposition parties INlD and Congress have criticized this bill saying it will debar around 80 percent people in rural areas from contesting Panchayat polls. INlD president Ashok Arora supporting this idea to certain level had said that educational qualification code should be introduced in a phased manner as people who are in their fifties and sixties these days had not got same educational facilities which the younger generations had been made available with.