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Nagaland government over reservation for women in civic body polls

The Nagaland government is caught in a Catch-22 situation regarding the state’s urban local bodies (ULB) elections. If it holds elections with a 33% reservation of seats for women, it will incur the wrath of some powerful tribal organisations, and if it does not, it will face action for contempt of a Supreme Court order. The State Election Commission announced on March 9 that the ULBs election for the state’s three municipal and 36 town councils would be held on May 16, with 33% of the seats reserved for women. However, the notification was cancelled on March 30 after the Assembly voted on March 28 to repeal the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, with immediate effect. After hearing a contempt petition filed by some organisations, the Supreme Court stayed the government notification that cancelled the ULBs election on April 5. Earlier, several powerful tribal organisations threatened to boycott the election unless the Municipal Act, which allows reservation for women and empowers ULBs to collect property taxes, was repealed. The tribal bodies argued that quotas for women would be an infringement on Naga customary laws, which are protected under Article 371(A) of the Constitution. They are also concerned about property taxes.

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