Compulsory education, toilets for Raj panchayat candidates

Candidates for panchayat elections in Rajasthan should now possess minimum educational qualifications and toilets in their homes.
Amid opposition by Congress MLAs, the Rajasthan Assembly today passed by voice vote two bills in this regard.
Replying to a debate lasted for over three hours, Minister in charge G C Kataria assured the House that both amendments in the Panchayati Raj Bills are very much progressive laws as evident from the recently-held Panchayat elections where every elected member was educated and no one was illiterate for the first time in the history of the nation.
Rajasthan having panchayati raj system launched by late Prime Minister Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru would lead the country ... where every elected representative would be educated, Kataria, who had earlier Panchayati Raj portfolio, said.

First and second bill titled "Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which were introduced as ordinance on the eve of panchayat elections in January-February 2015 and faced ire of Opposition Congress and NGOs, were passed by voice vote without any hurdle.
Defending the provisions of the bill, Kataria said it would determine a minimum educational qualifications for persons contesting elections for panchayats.

Any person willing to contest panchayat elections, must have a functional sanitary toilet in his or her house, and any of his or her family members do not defecate in the open, advocating the necessity of Clean India movement, Kataria said.

Since the Rajasthan Assembly was not in session and circumstances existed which rendered it necessary for the Governor to take immediate action, he, therefore, promulgated the respective ordinance on December 8, 2014.
With this amendment, contestants in Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections should be secondary passed, and in case of Sarpanch, the contestant should be Class V pass in scheduled area, and class VIII in panchayat other than in a scheduled area, the Minister in charge said.