Assam government to move resolution for educational qualification to contest polls

Guwahati, March 14 (PTI): Assam government today said it will introduce a resolution this week in the Assembly requesting the Centre to fix minimum educational qualification for candidates to contest Assembly and Parliament elections.
“In the next 2-3 days, we will move an official resolution to have minimum qualifications for Assembly and Parliamentary polls,” Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in the house.
“If needed, an all-party delegation may go and meet the President, the Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker …
Assam Assembly wants to recommend to Lok Sabha that there should be a model qualification,” he said.
Sarma was speaking during the discussion on ‘The Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2018’, which fixed minimum educational qualification at Class VI pass and having a maximum of two children for becoming a member of a panchayat in the state.
‘The Assam Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2018’ also bars people, who does not have a functional sanitary toilet in his or her residence from contesting panchayat poll.
Later, the Bill was passed.
Earlier, Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain said that educational qualification for Assembly and Parliament members should be fixed before doing do so for panchayat members.
Regarding the clause on the number of children of a panchayat aspirant, Sarma said “Party colleagues in BJP, Congress, AGP may not like it as it is not on party lines. It is for Assam. Assam has to be saved. The society has to be saved.”
He, however, clarified that the two new clauses will not be applicable in a retrospective manner and anyone having more than two children before notification of the proposed Act will be able to become a panchayat member.
Although Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Naba Kumar Doley, who moved the Bill for consideration, was present during the discussion, but he left the House moments before the reply was to be given in response to the amendments by the members.
Sarma replied on behalf of Doley.
Congress staged a walkout when ruling BJP members kept shouting when Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed was making a point on the educational qualification issue.