Bill passed to bar people with more than 2 kids from contesting Uttarakhand panchayat polls

The Uttarakhand Assembly Wednesday unanimously passed a bill barring people with more than two children from contesting panchayat polls and also making minimum educational qualifications mandatory for rural election candidates.

The Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday and a discussion on it was to be held on Wednesday. But that could not be done as the opposition disrupted the proceedings.

The bill was passed unanimously by voice vote amid the continuing bedlam in the House by the Opposition insisting on a debate on a video purportedly showing "some people close to the chief minister negotiating a monetary deal".

The amendment approved by the Assembly, makes it mandatory for panchayat poll candidates to have passed class 10. While women and SC/ST male candidates need to pass only class eight, SC/ST women need to pass only class five to be eligible to contest in rural polls.

It also states that people with more than two living children, one of whom is born 300 days after the enforcement of the new law, would not be eligible to contest rural elections.

Panchayat polls in Uttarakhand are due later this year.