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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Schooling cut-off for rural polls stays -Rakhee Roy Talukdar

Schooling cut-off for rural polls stays -Rakhee Roy Talukdar

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published Published on Jan 16, 2015   modified Modified on Jan 16, 2015
-The Telegraph

Jaipur: At least two sitting women village heads in Rajasthan would have to watch from the sidelines when rural polls get under way tomorrow after the high court today refused to stay an ordinance that has fixed minimum educational qualifications for contestants.

A bench of Chief Justice Sunil Ambawani and Justice Prakash Gupta said courts couldn't interfere once the notification had been issued and the election process set in motion.

The court said it would examine the validity of the ordinance on March 2. By then the January 16-February 1 elections would be long over.

It means neither Norti Devi, 65, nor Kamla Devi, 52 - both computer literate but without any formal schooling - can contest this time. Norti Devi has even gone abroad and spoken at a UN meet.

The BJP-led state government had brought in the ordinance on December 20 last year, days before the notification was issued. According to the ordinance, contestants for the post of sarpanches (village heads) needed to clear at least Class VIII. The cut-off was relaxed to Class V in scheduled areas.

As for those contesting for panchayat samiti and zilla parishad posts, they needed to be at least Class X pass.

The petitioners, who include the Opposition Congress, NGOs, Norti Devi and Kamla Devi, had wanted a stay, saying the ordinance would keep at least 80 per cent of contestants out of the fray.

They also claim that at least 95 per cent of women contestants would be disqualified as most women from rural backgrounds have no formal education.

"Why should we be debarred from contesting?" said Kamla Devi, 52. "Let people choose who they want - the educated ones or the experienced ones...."

According to Census 2011, activists say, Rajasthan's literacy rate is 67.06 per cent, even lower than the national average of 74.04 per cent.

Rights activist Nikhil De said although the high court refused to order an interim stay, it did point out that the government did not discuss the ordinance at any forum, including the Assembly, before pressing ahead. "Why is the rule not applicable to MLAs and MPs?" he wondered.

State Congress chief Sachin Pilot said 23 MLAs and two MPs of the ruling BJP have not cleared Class X.

De also said the state government's argument that funds embezzlement takes place when panchayat members are uneducated doesn't hold water. He said even a Class VIII-pass wouldn't be able to handle accounts or fill a ledger book correctly.


The Telegraph, 15 January, 2015, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150116/jsp/nation/story_8718.jsp#.VLixQnvxyBE


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