PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 207
and so on and so forth, and to permit members of these local bodies to be registered as voters. It was, however, found that probably this method of election may not provide a sufficiently large constituency. We have no idea as to how many municipal committees, town committees and village panchayats may be existing in various Part C States. It may be that in some Part C States there may be a plethora of them, and it may be that in some other Part C States there may be a great paucity of them. Consequently, in order to create a solid electorate, it is felt that in addition to the membership of these local bodies, it would be desirable if the franchise was extended to persons who have undergone some University examination. Therefore, in addition to membership to the local bodies, it is proposed, in this bill that matriculates or persons holding other equivalent qualifications may also be permitted to be registered as voters, provided they have the necessary qualification on the qualifying date, and have put in the necessary period of residence during the qualifying period. That is the general provision contained in clause 9 which seeks to introduce after section 25 of the original Act, new sections 25A, 25B, 25C and 25D. This is the nature of the electorate that this Bill proposes to bring into existence for the purpose of electing representatives to Part C States in the Upper Chamber.
I will take up the other two questions which I said, necessarily require consideration. The second question is nomination versus election. This mater is dealt with in clause 4 of the Bill. In this connection, it is felt that so far as the two States of Manipur and Tripura are concerned, election will not be possible, for the simple reason that so far as these two States are concerned, there are hardly any local authorities existing there. Therefore, the basis of the general proposal which is introduced by clause 9 does not exist at all so far as these two States are concerned. Tripura is really a tribal area. Manipur is a very backward area. There are hardly any of these local bodies and organisations. The educational status of these two States is also very backward. Consequently, it is not hoped that even if the educational qualification was introduced, it would be possible to obtain a sufficiently large