Clear loans, Uttar Pradesh panchayat poll aspirants told

AGRA - Aspirants in the panchayat (village council) elections in Uttar Pradesh later this year will have to clear all dues against loans taken from government agencies, an order issued by the state government says.

All candidates will need to secure an “all dues clear” certificate from government agencies and attach it with their nomination papers, said the order.

The order circulated by the district panchayti raj office in Agra Friday said a list of those who have defaulted on payment of dues against loans will be pasted at the block office.

The order will cover loans taken by poll aspirants for land, crops, tubewells, seeds, fertilizers and tenements.

District Election Officer Raj Kumar Srivastav said lists of defaulters till March 31, 2010 were being prepared at the gram panchayat, block and tehsil level.

The order has taken many aspiring contestants by surprise.

Raj Singh, an aspirant, said: “Half of our MPs and legislators are defaulters, why have they not been barred from contesting elections?”

Samajwadi Party worker Roller Singh said: “It’s a conspiracy of the Mayawati government to win panchayat body elections, by keeping contestants of other parties out of the poll arena.”