JOIN USWith the Congress fighting hard to bring senior leader Ahmed Patel back to the Upper House, the party raised serious objections to a 2014 Election Commission notification to introduce NOTA.
Opposition members disrupted the Question Hour, arguing that None Of The Above (NOTA) option could not be introduced in the election to the Upper House without an amendment to the Constitution.
Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma raised the issue when the House gathered for business, saying that the EC should have brought NOTA as a choice for the MLAs by a law or as per the Supreme Court’s directions. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Hamid Ansari asked the Congress leaders to discuss the issue directly with the poll panel, as he tried to continue with the proceedings.
Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said NOTA was introduced after a Supreme Court order in 2014.