U r not eligible!!!!!

As per Indian constitution, there is a minimum prescribed educational qualification for every post, irrespective of designation and nature of the job. Millions and zillions of form are filled every year for a post. Students burn the midnight oil, to be eligible for a job. Then they appear in the exam with lots of hard work and a bit of luck. Cracking any competitive exam is not everybody's cup of tea. Many of them fail, they try again, fail, try and so on. This process continues until they either clear the exam or become hopeless and choose an unsatisfactory career option. This is the story of every student and every post. But unfortunately, our constitution didn't mention any minimum eligibility conditions for our elected representatives. The political leaders don't need any school leaving certificates, any college degree or any such educational documents to claim their seat in Parliament or state assemblies. They neither have to clear any exams nor need to be specialized in their portfolios. All they have is the ability to manipulate 130 crore minds, either by hook or by crook. The result is that they lack the reasoning ability to question any policies formulated by bureaucrats, making them "bureaudent" (bureaucracy+dependent). The lack of even basic knowledge about policies formulated in their assigned portfolios prevents them from understanding the ripple effect of any policy on different sections of society. Thus the fate of citizens of the largest democratic country is in the hands of a few "ineligible" candidates.

Apart from climate change, there are various behavioural and psychological changes occurring in people due to the infusion of technology in our lifestyle. People are becoming more aware and concerned about their daily products (e.g. cosmetics, cooking essentials, TV, refrigerator, mobile phones etc.). They make sure that the products, which they use, meet their financial limitations. They prefer high-quality products. But when comes to elect our leaders, we often forget to check all the "standard specifications". We forget that it would be our leader who is accountable for our purchasing power.

Thus I feel that it is time for a few more constitutional changes in this regard. The political leaders must fulfil essential eligibility criteria (at least a graduation degree from a government recognized state/central university) before they are elected. The frequency of representation of any elected representative (state/central) must be fixed, i.e. they can't be elected for more than a fixed number of times. It would allow some new and young minds having fresh and innovative ideas, to step into the dynamic political situation. The MLA or MP having expert knowledge of a field must be given the corresponding portfolios. It will help the minister to analyze the policies efficiently and critically. Various constitutional watchdog agencies, through their periodic assessment, must check that there is no conflict of interest in holding ministerial position. There must be a performance review system for MLAs and MPs, i.e. the performance of every MLA or MP must be evaluated considering various factors like developmental achievements, access by common people, behavioural and moral grounds. The performance score must be a decisive factor for their further contesting of the election. A leader with any criminal cases involving severe offence must not be allowed to contest the election. On the public front, people must understand that our development depends upon our set political standards. So, we must review our parameters and decide our developmental goals. It is us who has to decide how our leaders will shape our society. We must boycott any 'ineligible' candidates from contesting the election, through the most potent button, NOTA, of EVM machine.