BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the Supreme Court directive to the Election Commission to include the Right to reject as great step towards future electoral reforms. Modi said that inclusion of ‘Right to reject’ would not only empower voters but it will also make our democracy more vibrant and participative.
The Chief Minister said that the Gujarat Government had introduced a related Bill on compulsory voting. “The Bill mentions the Right to reject. It was sent to the Governor but the Bill has not been given assent till now. In such a situation, the Supreme Court’s directive to incorporate the provisions of negative voting allowing voters to reject all candidates would definitely empower voters,” he said.
According to Modi, there was something lacking in the system and he had called for a provision for a right to reject in earlier elections. “This provision will make political parties more responsible. The voters can give a message that they do not like the candidate or the candidates’ party or the party policies. Compulsory voting will also make our democracy stronger,” he said.
By bringing compulsory voting, mindless and extravagant expenditure on elections will not happen as the voters will anyway have to come to the polling booth and cast their franchise, he opined.
A large number of youngsters who are 18 to 24 years old are not registered as voters, said Modi adding that there is nothing more unfortunate than this. It is equally true that many of our NRI friends who retain their Indian passports do not know that they can vote in elections, he said and urged NRIs to utilise their voting rights.