NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant wants voting to be made compulsory and non-voters fined

Referring to Australia, Amitabh Kant said that non-voting in the country leads to $20 fine and failure of the same leads to imprisonment.

New Delhi| The dismal voter turnout on polling days have been an issue in every election. But NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant proposed an idea to apparently ‘fix’ it. He said that voting should not only be made compulsory but also the defaulters be fined.

Referring to Australia, he said that non-voting in the country leads to $20 fine and failure of the same leads to imprisonment. Amitabh Kant said it is worth a try.

He tweeted, “Australia too is in the midst of its federal elections. Voting is compulsory & those who do not vote are fined $20. In case of non payment you can be taken to court & liable to be jailed. Seeing d apathy of rich & middle class voters in urban cities of India this is worth a try.”

My comment was with reference to urban cities & rich & upper middle class who are always critical but fail to exercise their statutory right. https://t.co/cp7dERCyBG

— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) May 1, 2019

However, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi replied saying one’s right to vote also means his right to not vote. He also pointed out that if the law is mandated it would end up harassing millions of daily-wagers in India who skip voting to earn money.

Amitabh Kant, however, clarified that he was referring to the urban cities and rich and upper middle class who are always critical but fail to exercise their statutory right. Quraishi explained that taking legal action against non-voters would mean millions of court cases after every election. He said, “In Australia, despite compulsory voting, 10 per cent people still end up not voting. In India, 10% not voting would mean 9 crore court cases after every election. Lawyers would have a field day!”