Laying down educational qualifications for panchayat and zila parishad elections endangers democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received plenty of flak for resorting to the ordinance route to make policy changes. Some critics have even described this as “constitutional terrorism”. But there are enough technicalities, beginning with an obstructionist opposition, to serve as an excuse for why the Central government had to use its executive privilege. The Rajasthan government, on the other hand, has issued an ordinance that endangers its very democratic setup. On Monday, the Supreme Court said it would not take up a Public Interest Litigation seeking to strike down Rajasthan’s ordinance changing the qualification requirements for panchayat and zila parishad elections. The apex court said that challenges to the amended law, which mandates a Class X pass certificate for panchayat candidates and Class VIII for zila parishads, would have to be taken up in the Rajasthan High Court.

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