NOTA
Supreme Court recently in a petition filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties ruled that the electorate should have the right to reject all the candidates. The Supreme Court
contended that the Right to freedom of Speech enshrined under Article 19 of the constitution can only be true in elections if the electorate has the power of None Of The
Above button (NOTA).
According to SC this will bring back vibrancy in our political system as parties will be forced to field candidates with a clean image. Further the Chief Justice of India noted
” For democracy to survive, it is essential that the best available men should be chosen as people’s representatives for proper governance of the country. This can be best
achieved through men of high moral and ethical values, who win the elections on a positive vote”.
In spite of the noble intentions of SC experts believe that NOTA can backfire as anti social elements in insurgency affected areas can use NOTA to bring skewed results.
Also questions still remain about the utility of NOTA because if NOTA receives the highest number of votes polled, the candidate with second highest number of vote will
win the election.
The question still remains, is NOTA first in the long list of much needed reforms or just a flash in the pan mooted by an overzealous Supreme Court.
