Gujarat has been in the news ever since its Governor OP Kohli signed the controversial law to make voting compulsory for local body elections, but the controversy doesn't stop there - the state has now said that only those candidates who have toilets in their homes can contest civic elections.
This rule was part of the 'The Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014' that was passed by the state assembly on Monday and will apply to elections for district, taluka, village, panchayat and municipal corporations.
Aspirants will have to furnish affidavits to prove they have toilets in their homes.
"Candidates who don't have this facility at his/her home cannot contest," Gujarat's Road and Building Minister Nitin Patel said in the assembly, NDTV reported.
It will also apply to those who have already been elected to local bodies, and they will now have to provide a certificate to prove their homes have toilets within six months to avoid disqualification.
This rule for sanitation is reportedly part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India campaign to provide toilets in every home.
Congress members were said to have objected to the rule, claiming that it would deny the poor the opportunity to contest local elections. They also pointed out the problems of water scarcity and the difficulties for residents of chawls to furnish certificates, The Times of India reported.
However, the bill was passed unopposed by the house.
