Indian local election candidates will have to have a toilet in their home to run

Proposal designed to promote sanitation in Rajasthan

The proposal would require the backing of the state’s chief minister Vasundhara Raje (Getty Images)

Authorities in the Indian state of Rajasthan are planning to make it compulsory for candidates in local elections to have a proper toilet in their home.

In a proposal intended to promote the importance of sanitation in a country where half the population is obliged to defecate in the open, the state government is planning a new law that would make possession of a lavatory a requirement for candidates in village, or panchayat, elections.

The proposal by a Rajasthan minister would require the backing of the state’s chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, and would need to be passed in the state assembly. Local elections are scheduled to take place next January.

The proposal, reported by The Hindu newspaper, followed a speech delivered by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the country’s independence day, when he called for people to act and provide toilets, especially for women and girls.

“Has it ever pained us that our mothers and sisters have to defecate in the open. Can’t we just make arrangements for toilets for the dignity of our mothers and sisters?” Mr Modi declared, speaking from the Red Fort in Delhi.

“I don’t know if people will appreciate my talking about dirt and toilets from the Red Fort but I come from a poor family. I have seen poverty and the attempt to give dignity to the poor starts from there.”

The UN estimates that up to 640m Indians, around half the population, have no access to a proper toilet. In addition to making women vulnerable to disease and snake bites, defecating in the open raises the danger of them being subjected to sexual assaults.

The suggestion by the authorities in Rajasthan, which is controlled by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), follows a similar proposal in the state of Gujarat, where he was once chief minister and which is also run by his party.

Rajasthan, with its desert cities such as Jaipur and Jaisalmer, is well known as a destination for both Indian and international tourists. But the state also suffers from poverty and lack of development. It is estimated that fewer than 30 per cent of homes in the state have a toilet.

The government is also reportedly considering withholding some benefits from employees posted in rural areas if they do not have toilets at home. These include teachers and doctors. Officials believe up to 20 per cent of teachers in the state defecate in the open.