Elections are being held on time and women having more than two children can participate in the panchayat elections,” said Subardhan, State Election Commissioner, while inaugurating the prospective women candidate at a day-long Innovative Consultative Interactive Meet on Saturday at the RlEK Auditorium in Dehradun.
“Yatra naryantu pujyate ramnte tatra devta (God resides in such a society where women are respected).” Women played an important role in the formation of Uttrakhand, it is also evident that the hill women work harder than men and are the spine of State’s economy. They should take active participation in panchayat elections, besides standing from reserved seats they should also stand from unreserved seats. Also the concept of pati pradhan should be discouraged. Husbands can act as help to their women pradhans but decision making should be done by women pradhans, Subardhan added.
More than 116 prospective women from all the four blocks namely Raipur, Doiwala, Sahaspur of Dehradun district and Jaunpur (Thatyur) block of Tehri district attended this one-day consultative meet being organised by Rural litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RlEK) supported by Canadian Fund for local Initiative (CFlI). During the discussion, Hema Thapa, Naya Gaon, Sahaspur Block raised her concern that in previous elections they received the voter list at around 12 noon for which Subardhan answered that this might be one of the few cases but if the voter stands in the voters’ queue before 5 pm then no matter what, he is entitled to caste the vote.
Another question was raised by Punna Devi of Jaunpur Block that in case of strikes how one can arrange the documents to be attached with the nomination papers, to which it was answered that in case some documents were not available, one can bring forward their property records, bank details, electricity bills of previous years. Sharing her experience, Damini Bhargava, one of the trainers raised her concern that women from plains married to hilly tribes were not able to stand from the reserved SC/ST seat, for which Subardhan, the State Election Commissioner answered that any woman who marries to SC/ST does not becomes SC/ST as she has not faced any discrimination
since childhood.