Amid a fierce debate on the Gujarat Government move to make voting compulsory in local body elections, a senior Congress Minister in the Siddaramaiah Government has said that Karnataka will look into implementing the same in the State.
Karnataka Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development HK Patil went a step further by asserting that voting in elections should be made compulsory not just in panchayats, like that done in Gujarat, but also in general elections. “The recent Gujarat notification is a good measure,” Patil said, adding, “Voting should become compulsory in general elections too in the light of dwindling voting percentage, particularly in urban pockets.”
A committee headed by former Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar has made a slew of recommendations for election reforms, including funding campaigns of all candidates in local body elections.However, making voting compulsory was not among the recommendations.While Patil clarified it was his personal view, he said he would bring it up before Cabinet during the discussion on the recommendations of The Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act Amendment Committee, 2014.
Patil said that the educated class was not exercising its franchise during local and other election and hence the polling percentage was coming down. “Hence, I personally opine that it is better to make voting compulsory in all elections,” he added.
last week, the Gujarat Government had passed the Gujarat local Authorities laws Bill, 2009, which has the provision of compulsory voting in the institutions of local self-governance. Once it comes into effect, Gujarat will be the first State to have the provision of compulsory voting. The move had earlier faced resistance from former Governor Kamla Beniwal on the ground that forcing voters to compulsorily vote violates Article 21 of the Constitution.