NOTA gets over 2.18 lakh votes in Indore LS seat, breaks previous record of Gopalganj
New Delhi, Jun 4: NOTA created a record with 2.18 lakh voters in Madhya Pradesh's Indore opting for the 'none of the above' option in the Lok Sabha elections, counting for which is underway on Tuesday.
Of the total voters, 14.01 per cent opted for 'None of the Above', which was introduced in 2013 following a Supreme Court order.
In the 2019 parliamentary polls, voters in Bihar's Gopalganj had created a record with 51,660 of them, or five per cent, opting for the NOTA option, which is placed as the last option on the electronic voting machine.
As per the latest trends available on the Election Commission's website at 3.15 PM, over 4.62 lakh (0.99 per cent of the total voters opted for NOTA.
Out of 61,31,33,300 votes polled in the 2019 polls, 65,14,558 (1.06 per cent) were polled for NOTA.
Similarly in 2014 parliamentary elections, out of 55,38,02,946 votes polled, 60,02,942 (1.08 per cent) were polled for NOTA.
The Congress had received a jolt in the Indore Lok Sabha seat after its candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date for the withdrawal of nominations.
Bam later joined the BJP, prompting the Congress to appeal to the people to press the NOTA option on EVMs during polling in Indore on May 13.
Former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat had recently described NOTA as having a "symbolic" impact and had said if it gets more than 50 per cent votes in a seat, only then making it legally effective on poll results could be considered.
Rawat had also told PTI that if 99 out of 100 votes go in favour of NOTA option and someone gets one vote, even then the canidate will emerge victorious.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Indore recorded 69 per cent turnout with 5,045 voters opting for NOTA.
Rawat said, "In the present situation, NOTA has only symbolic significance and it cannot have an impact on the election result of any seat."
"More than 50 per cent electors will have to once opt for NOTA in a seat to show the political community that they do not consider candidates with criminal background or other undeserving ones worthy of their votes. Only after this, pressure on Parliament and the Election Commission will increase and they will have to think about changing laws to make NOTA effective on the election results," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
