CHENNAI: How about having 'thumbs down' as a symbol to represent the 'None Of The Above' (NOTA) option during the coming general elections?

A PIL in the Madras high court has urged the court to direct the election commission of India to develop a symbol to denote NOTA option, on the ground that since a vast majority of Indian population is illiterate an exclusive symbol for NOTA alone would serve the desired purpose fully.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Satish K Agnihotri and Justice M M Sundresh, admitting the PIL of advocate S Sathiachandran on Tuesday, directed the election commission to explain the action taken on the matter within a week.

It was following the Supreme Court judgment in the PUCL case on September 27, 2013 that the election commission introduced a separate NOTA button in electronic voting machines (EVMs). As of now, NOTA is found at the end of the ballot sheet or EVM, after the last contesting candidate's name.

Sathiachandran said NOTA option had an important democratic duty to perform, and it could be better achieved if it is allotted an exclusive symbol just as any other candidate.

Referring to a representation he had given to authorities on March 17, 2014, the petitioner said: "I made a representation suggesting that a symbol for NOTA may be designed on the lines of 'Thumbs Down', as such an icon is widely used in day to day parlance, and especially in social network sites to indicate one's dislike over anything."

He said the spirit of the apex court ruling would get obliterated in the absence of effective measures to ensure due exercise of voters' right to reject all candidates in the fray.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, G Rajagopalan, senior counsel for the election commission of India, said the authorities had taken necessary steps to implement the apex court ruling, and added that it was implemented in some states three months ago. As for the publicity required for spreading the NOTA awareness among voters, senior counsel said materials would be published in leading dailies 2-3 days ahead of the general elections.