Modi hails SC verdict on right to reject candidates in polls

Gujarat chief minister says judgment will empower voters to express their anger

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed Supreme Court's landmark judgement holding that citizens have right to cast negative vote rejecting all candidates contesting polls, while raising pitch for compulsory voting in the country.

"I wholeheartedly welcome this. I am sure it will have a long lasting impact on our polity and will be a great step in the direction of further electoral reforms that can make our democracy even more vibrant and participative," said BJP's prime ministerial candidate on his official blog.

He said that the Apex court judgment will empower the voters to express their anger and reject all candidates. "The voters can give a message that we do not like the candidate or the candidates’ party or the party policies. This will give out a very strong message to political parties who will be forced to think why is it that people are not accepting them. It will make parties responsible," Modi added.

The senior BJP leader said that he had been advocating for such provision since long time. "Without it, there was something lacking in the system. Right now, if there are ten candidates contesting from a seat, we are compelling the voters to choose from those ten candidates," he explained.

Modi said he would not feel surprised if some political parties are skeptical of having a Right to Reject in forthcoming elections. He talked about his government's initiative on compulsory voting and right to reject and how the its faith has been hanging in balance. "We introduced a bill on compulsory voting, which even included the Right to Reject but Congress Party opposed it. The bill was passed twice, in 2008 and 2009 but was withheld by Honourable Governor," he lamented.

The chief minister advocated for the right to reject and compulsory voting and said it would not violate the fundamental right of expression of citizens.