In another eye-catching news, the Uttarakhand Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday which barred people with more than two children from contesting panchayat polls and also making minimum educational qualifications mandatory for rural election candidates.
As per the schedule, 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 which could not be done as the opposition had disrupted the proceedings.
However, the bill was passed unanimously by voice vote amidst the continuing bedlam in the House by the Opposition which insisted on a debate on a video purportedly showing "some people close to the chief minister negotiating a monetary deal", according to FirstPost.
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.
The amendment also states that people with more than two living children, one of whom is born 300 days after the enforcement of the new law, will not be eligible to contest rural elections.
The Panchayat polls in the state are due later this year.