Rajasthan state assembly passes bill to end minimum education criterion for panchayat and civic poll candidates

The Rajasthan Assembly has recently passed two Bills which seek to end the minimum education criterion for panchayat and civic poll candidates. The House passed by voice vote the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Rajasthan Municipality (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The previous Vasundhara Raje-led government had introduced education criterion in 2015 which required a candidate to pass Class X for contesting zila parishad, panchayat samiti and municipal elections. Defending the bill, Panchayati Raj Minister Sachin Pilot stated that the previous Act was against the basics of the Constitution. Society cannot be divided on the basis of education. He further stated that education criterion should first be introduced for contesting Assembly and parliamentary elections.