JAIPUR:
Rajasthan has the dubious distinction of discriminating against
leprosy patients as Section 19(f) of the Rajasthan
Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, disqualifies a leprosy victim from contesting panchayat elections.
Section 19 of the law lays down qualifications required for contesting panchayat elections. According to Sec 19(f), a person is barred if he/she “is a leper or is suffering from any other bodily or mental defect or disease rendering him incapable for work”.
Prem Singh Mehra, commissioner, state election commission, said, “The government defines the conditions of eligibility of candidates.” He added, “The state election commission’s role is to conduct panchayat and local body elections on time every five years without failure.”
PUCL Rajasthan president Kavita Srivastav said, “The state government has been following a policy of exclusion as far as panchayat raj is concerned. These are regressive measures that discriminate against people on one pretext or the other.” She said science had advanced, leprosy was now curable and it was high time the act was amended.
A senior official in the panchayat raj department said, “We are amending the provision. The bill is ready and may be moved in the next state assembly session.”
