Aruna Roy files PIL against Rajasthan panchayat ordinance

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will Jan 5 hear a PIL against a Rajasthan ordinance on minimum education for candidates contesting panchayat and zila parishad elections, social activist Aruna Roy said Friday.

"The people of Rajasthan are determined to oppose this arbitrary requirement that abrogates their constitutional right to contest elections," Roy, who moved the PIL, said in a statement.

According to Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2014, approved by the state government days before the official notification for panachayat polls scheduled for this month, contestants in zila parishad or panchayat samiti elections must qualify class 10 and those contenting for the sarpanch's post must be class 8 pass.

Judicial and social activists challenged the temporary legislation on the ground that it excluded the majority from the poll process due to the low literacy level in Rajasthan.

In her statement, Roy said: "With the matter due for hearing in the court on Monday, the Rajasthan government is expected to comply with the judicial process that's underway."

She said she hoped that "the Rajasthan government will not do anything which may have the effect of rendering the petition infructuous. The state government ought not to take advantage of the court holidays".

"We still have hope that the Rajasthan government will reconsider its decision and allow every citizen and voter to be a candidate in the panchayat elections," said Roy