The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has passed a bill amending the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, to disqualify the daughters-in-law of families involved in government land encroachment from contesting local body elections. Under the previous provisions, a person caught encroaching on public land and his son were barred from running for Panchayat or municipal posts, but his daughter-in-law remained eligible. The new legislation expands the legal definition of “family” to close this loophole, preventing disqualified individuals from fielding female family members to run in their place.
Introduced by Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, the bill was passed by a voice vote. Minister Singh defended the amendment by stating that it enforces the principle of “one state, one law” and follows recommendations made by the State Election Commission six years ago. He argued that since daughters-in-law are an integral part of the household and enjoy its amenities, they should not be excluded from the legal definition of family heirs, especially when used to circumvent election bans.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly opposed the measure, condemning the amendment as “anti-women” and alleging that it was drafted to target specific political opponents. Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and BJP MLA Randhir Sharma argued that a daughter-in-law originates from a different family background and should not face penalization for legal infractions committed by her in-laws. Warning that the law would fail judicial scrutiny, the opposition accused the state government of eroding democratic rights out of political obstinacy.
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