Gujarat firm on compulsory voting in local body polls

The Gujarat government is firm on introducing compulsory voting in civic elections due in October, ignoring objections by the Congress which dubbed it as unconstitutional.
Making clear the government's resolve on the issue, Chief Minister Anandiben Patil said process of framing rules for default voters is underway.
"We are in the process of notifying rules for the compulsory voting bill. It will be implemented in corporation and the district Panchayat elections. We have also been framing rules for those who cannot cast their votes and the norms will be declared very soon," Patel told reporters in Rajkot.
Principal opposition Congress has sharply criticised the legislation, alleging that it smacked of authoritarianism under which people will be harassed.

"You can pass the law through majority but you have to see the spirit behind it. Such compulsory voting system was in vogue in Communist countries like Russia. People will be harassed under such a system," Leader of Opposition in state Assembly, Shankarsinh Vaghela, said.
"Voting is the matter of one's own will...You cannot pressurise or impose it on people. This is government's pressure on people to make them cast their votes," Vaghela added.

"The laws should be in consonance with constitution. Our country's constitution gives right to the vote to people and now it is upto the people whether they want to cast their votes or not," Vaghela said in Ahmedabad.

The compulsory voting bill was first passed by the state Assembly in 2009, which was denied assent by the then Governor Dr Kamla.
The bill, which has a penal provision in it against those who fail to vote, was passed again in 2011 but it was only in November 2014 that Governor O P Kohli gave his approval and it become an Act.
The state government also formed a committee to seek public opinions and suggestions for framing rules. Recently the committee compiled the suggestions and submitted the report to the government.
However, sources revealed that government is unlikely to make harsh provisions against those who fail to cast their votes.

It is learnt that rules for the act, to be declared next week, will be milder for first time offenders, senior citizens and people who migrate for work.