Raj Assembly passes Panchayati Raj amendment bill

The Rajasthan Assembly today passed a bill which relaxes the provision "two-child" provision for those aspiring to contest panchayat elections provided one of the children is differently-abled.

It also passed an amendment aimed at allowing people suffering from leprosy to contest panchayat elections.

The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2018, was passed by voice vote.

The bill aims at deleting a provision under the Act that if a person is suffering from Leprosy, he will be disqualified for contesting panchayat elections.

Proposing the amendment, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajendra Rathore said at the time of enactment of the Act, there might have been some valid reasons for making such a provision.

However, in the present time, for rehabilitating and bringing the people suffering from Leprosy fully into the mainstream, this provision should be deleted.

It is proposed that a person suffering from leprosy should not be disqualified under the sections of the Act, he said.

As per the existing legislation, a person stood disqualified from contesting panchayat elections, if he or she has more than two children. The provision does not provide for any exception for a disabled child.

Rathore proposed that the provision should be relaxed and thechild, having disability, should not be counted for the purpose of disqualification under the sections of the Act.

The provisions of the Section 19 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 were amended and the Bill was passed by the House by voice vote.