Cong, BJP on same page over removing Nota from RS polls

NEW DELHI: On a day when the Congress moved SC over the use of None of the Above (NOTA) option in upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, the BJP too joined the issue in opposing the provision.

The SC on Wednesday agreed to hear Gujarat Congress’s petition challenging Election Commission’s decision to use Nota. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the petition and asked a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra to hear the matter urgency. The court accepted the submission and listed it for Thursday. Sibal told the court there was no statutory provision with regard to Nota in the Constitution. Meanwhile, the BJP too made a similar demand and moved the Supreme Court. A delegation of the ruling party submitted a memorandum the EC, suggesting it to create a consensus among political parties before rushing with the decision.

“There is no secrecy for the voting in such election, therefore the purpose of Nota is not much of use in such election,” it told EC.