Nainital : The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered that those having twins after the birth of their first child are eligible to contest the panchayat polls in the state, scheduled to be held later this year.
The judgement comes after BJP leader Bharat Bhushan Chug filed a petition at the high court.
On Wednesday, the state assembly passed a bill that says anybody who has more than two children will not be allowed to contest panchayat elections.
The Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which awaits the Governor’s approval before becoming a law, has also introduced minimum educational qualifications for panchayat elections–Class 10th pass for General category, Class 8 for women and SC/ST (men), and Class 5 for SC/ST (women).
The Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government has said its intention is to promote family planning and ensure educated people are elected in the panchayat elections.
Prasanta Patnaik