Authorities in an Indian state have been accused of excluding poor candidates from running for office by making a “functional toilet” compulsory in their homes.
Anger over changes to electoral regulations in Haryana, where an estimated 40 per cent of homes do not have lavatories, provoked an appeal to India’s Supreme Court that delayed the polls.
But judges upheld the controversial Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act last month, which also banned anyone with previous criminal charges against them, with overdue loan payments or electricity bills or without a set level of educational qualifications from standing in elections.
The law stipulates that candidates must also “submit a self declaration to the effect that he has a functional toilet at his place of residence”.
Opponents argued that the requirements excluded an unacceptable proportion of prospective politicians in the panchayat (village administration) elections.
Required educational attainment is set at matriculation for men but at Class 8 for women and anyone in “scheduled castes”.
The Haryana state government defended the law by saying it would improve the quality of village administration, literacy and sanitation awareness.
“The verdict justifies our stand that villages need educated representatives. This will strengthen democracy at the Panchayat level,” a Haryana government spokesperson told NDTV.
But the All India Democratic Women’s Association (Aidwa) called it a “blatant constitutional violation”.
“This will have long term implications for the fundamental rights of all the socially and economically marginalised sections including Dalits and women,” a spokesperson said.
“Aidwa strongly opposes the attempts of the Haryana Government to disenfranchise a huge section of the population from contesting the ensuing panchayat elections in the state.
“It is clear that these conditions will target people suffering from socio-economic deprivation from contesting elections.”
According to the 2011 census, 69 per cent of households in Haryana state have toilets and 30 per cent of people are forced to defecate in the open, the Times of India reported, despite continuing efforts by the local government to improve sanitation.
According to its own analysis, Aidwa said the new law would exclude 83 per cent of Scheduled Caste women, 72 per cent of other women, 71 per cent of Scheduled Caste Men and more than half of other men from elections.
The court appeal delayed the Panchayat elections due for October in Haryana by three months and the first phase of polls were conducted on Sunday.
