NOTA awareness in full swing in the State

The landmark judgement by SC to offer an option called NOTA (None of the Above) to the voter to indicate that none of the candidates is worthy of his vote is being lauded by NGOs and the general public alike.

This judgement that was delivered on September 27 last year is being seen by the fifth estate in the State as a powerful weapon for the voter in the impending elections.

IndiaIsMyCountry.In, an online forum, is fervently creating voter awareness with a special emphasis on this option wherein a voter can press the NOTA button at the polls without any qualms if he is not impressed by any of the candidates in his constituency. The awareness is catching up elsewhere in India too.

In fact, former Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde on Sunday said that when voters start using the None Of The Above (NOTA) option, it will lead to political parties taking care to choose proper candidates. He said that he was part of a committee that came up with pointers on electoral reforms and they had collectively suggested that if the number of votes polled for NOTA is more than that of the candidates, then the candidates should be disqualified for a number of years.

He acknowledged the expenditure and effort a re-election may cause, he stressed the importance of it.

During a special address on ‘The role and responsibilities of elected representatives’ at a voters awareness programme organised in Chennai, Hedge said, “The problem lies with us. We do not ask questions. If you don’t find a proper candidate, it is time we start using NOTA.”

Former Policy Adviser to U.N. B.S. Raghavan said this meeting was part of a series of programmes to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the Academy. He said that a democracy works not in abstraction but through people who work their democracy and those are the elected representatives. Academy president G. Narayanaswamy was also present at the event.