LORD, GIVE US THIS DAY OUR 'NOTA' BUTTON !

Sincere prayers will always be answered--eventually!

That was what we were solemnly assured by "Kaappi Annan", the retired GOM  (grand old man) who usually presides over our little group at the coffee house with all the aplomb of Kofi Annan at the UN. (Incidentally, the name is a pun on 'coffee' and 'annan', meaning the elder brother; let us admit it, Annan's wise ways, his crisp comments and observations, and above all his wonderful common sense, kept us on the straight and narrow and focussed most of the time, and we all loved it.)

For quite some months the discussion had kept coming back to democracy and voting, and how the clever coalition politics had short-circuited the very idea of a truly democratic election and a selection by the people. Then out of the blue another avatar --the EVM-- burst on the scene, complicating the already murky situation further. From before most of us were born, we had paper ballots. Whether it was by a slip of the finger, or sheer plain ignorance or by a clever 'sleight of hand' that a virgin slip of ballot paper was added to that ever-increasing heap of 'support' for Mr Invalid, it has to be agreed that this particular possibility inherent in the paper ballot was sometimes really really desirable. Then some clever guy (probably the same guy or group who dreamed up the 'coalition' political formula and a short-cut to power) wanted to take India into the 21st century, along with the average office and factory and the corner 'dhaba' who were "computerizing" with a vengeance--end of paper,  and the augury of the paperless Electronic Voting Machine.

The EVM was slick and it was digital and, of course, paperless! And it was infallible!! The entire country welcomed it with open arms. Many of us, who had with horror looked to the periodic punishment of being sent as Presiding Officers for elections, heaved a collective sigh of relief when the EVM came onto the scene as it lessened our "manual labour" a lot. Things sailed on pretty smoothly for a while. Then came all sorts of doubts about the 'fool-proof' and tamper-proof nature of the EVMs. The government was vehement in its assertion that the EVM could not be tampered with. But computer experts were quick to point out that it was possible to 'hack' any piece of electronic gear at the "root" level-- if you knew how to, and if you had some simple tools of the trade. Today even the general public is quite savvy about "hacking" as they see and hear about such hi-tech exploits almost daily in the media and on the Net. For the dedicated hacker, or "cracker", virtually nothing seems to be impossible. There have been occasions, even recent, when accusations were made that "doctored" EVMs were substituted in order to manipulate election results. That is another ball game and it has to be addressed on its own--later, as it is not our concern right now.

Our concerns to begin with, were the "arithmetic" of the coalition politics, and also how the EVM had made it well nigh impossible for the voter to really mark his/her preference in situations when the choices were equally undesirable. His vote went to somebody, whether he liked it or not, whether he wanted it or not. Once s/he was in the polling booth, s/he was under the tyranny of the EVM and you HAD TO push some button or other. With the paper ballot, you had a fool-proof "fall-guy" always-- Mr Invalid-- though it was a crime to make a vote invalid purposely. Ah, but then a slip of the finger could always be excused... But who said our politicians were asinine with "nothing in the upper storeys"?? With one fell and clever swoop they had cemented their position well by pushing all those invalid votes into favouring someone or other. We didn't like it one bit.

This then was our "bone of contention", and the problem that vexed our little group's humble brains for a while. Nobody could think of a solution. And the government and the Election Commission were sitting pretty saying that this was progress and everything was fine the way it was. It was then that Kaappi Annan one evening uttered those famous words about sincere prayers and how they will be answered--eventually. He probably wanted to tell us dimwits that the clever politicians (who else is that invisible behemoth called the government?) would never agree to make a change that they knew would eat into their chances, and so our only alternative was prayer and supplication to the Almighty.

Dutifully we followed suit and sincerely sent up our prayers in this regard heavenward. Though we had our doubts whether the Creator would choose to intervene on our behalf with the Left who never believed in Him, or with the Right who knew that it was better to believe in the Americans who print 'In God We Trust' on their coins and leave it conveniently at that, often giving His status to the little round gold icons. With the recent announcement of elections, our prayers took on a note of urgency bordering on panic. And at last, proving our Annan right, the Supreme Being responded to our prayers. As has been recorded in many apocryphal stories, to many of us this too happened as a dream conversation, an executive summary of which would go something like this:

"O Lord, give us this day our NOTA button..."

"I have created the Heaven and Earth, and many things besides, but am yet to hear of this.."

"O Lord, it is the NOTA button on the EVM..."

"Children these days have an abominable habit of speaking in acronyms... What's it?"

"O Lord, it is the Electronic Voting Machine..."

"I dont remember creating that... And what of this funny button?"

"O Lord, it is a button we want on it... it's the 'None Of The Above' button..."

"I dont claim to understand these newfangled gizmos, but let me make one thing absolutely plain... I did not create the EVM, and so it is not my responsibility to give you buttons for 'none of the above' or 'all of the above' or other combinations... Do you get that?"

"O Lord, have mercy and please succour us..."

"My word is final. I dont think it is a big deal for you to approach the CEC; my angels tell me he was the one who gave you the EVMs initially. From reports that reach me, I understand that the machine is fully tamper-proof. How do you expect me to insert a new button into that? Further I cant think of my name getting dragged into headlines about 'corruption in really High Places' and such like if I choose to touch the machine with intentions of making alterations to that. In the circumstances you would do well to submit your prayers to the CEC. All I would want to say is that those who have read their 'puranas' and the fables know that it is easier to wake a sleeping man than one whose somnolence is for the TV cameras. Prayers dismissed as being ultra vires. Over and out..."

The dream faded away and we were jolted awake in cold sweat. The jolt registered something like 9 plus on the Richter scale, but we found ourselves on the terra firma once again the next evening at the coffee house.

At last Annan spoke: Now that the Good Lord has chosen to wash His hands of the affair and has mentioned the CEC, let us think of submitting a prayer before that lordly official. There is logic in what the Almighty did point out. But then when a process or procedure is computerized, it should offer the user all the features that were inherent in the original, conventional system. Any departure from that is a violation of the standing rules of the game and it has to be legally questioned. Courts of Law surely understand questions of discrimination and non-conformity etc. But as a first resort let us propitiate and persuade the God of Poll Things about this NOTA thing, before we think of moving the machinery of Supreme Justice, decreed Annan sagely.

So we got together and drafted another prayer--this time on paper.

Before the Honourable CEC:

Permit us, Sir, to bring to your exalted notice a situation that to many would appear as funny, but to us a most serious and urgent one. As we all know the Indian Constitution states that any citizen of voting age can contest an election in our land. Though the architects of our Constitution were men of calibre and honesty, in essence they appear to lack forward thinking. They put no defining limits on the specs for the candidates. A professed Gandhian, who moonlights as a goonda, can contest by the side of a refined criminal or a self-styled joker or one of those scions of 'brand' families. Whether it was through their goodness or their lack of foresight that they permitted this, we know one thing. In the days of coalition politics, the clever parties can field a number of candidates who are all chips of the same old corrupt bloke, though there might be some apparent variations of colour.

Right now the voter in the country is facing a huge dilemma. An overwhelming section of politicians consist of those who have given bribes and those who have taken bribes and then those worthies for whom the oaths of office that they take are as holy as dicer's oaths, and also many of those who betrayed the trust of the people. If the bunch of contestants happen to be from this 'unholy group' (it is more than likely that this will be the case), the voter may want to choose "none of the above" to represent him and conduct governance.
As of now the "mechanics" of the EVM makes it mandatory that you have to choose one from the list, whether that is your true choice or not.

Kindly note that the paper ballot system gave an option to the voter of not voting for any one from the list if he so desired. It is educative to seriously consider a hypothetical situation when the votes polled for all the candidates taken together number far less than all those polled for "none of the above". Where is the mandate? Dont we have a democracy, at least on paper, where a majority is a must? The present EVM denies the voter this option of indicating "None of the above" that was tacitly present throughout in the paper ballot system.

We strongly urge you to take urgent steps to denote one button in every EVM as 'None Of The Above'. We also need legislation to specify that if any candidate polls votes that are less than the number polled for NOTA, he cannot be elected. Really we must specify that a candidate must poll more than 50% of the total polled votes if we are to have a truly democratic election, and not a charade of democratic procedures.

In the greater interests of the country and democracy we the responsible, law-abiding, tax-paying voters of this great nation demand of you the above changes in the EVM and the rules that govern elections. We have enough time to consider and implement such changes before the forthcoming elections. In this context we submit once again the following prayer before your exalted self:

O Great CEC, give us this day our NOTA button..... PDQ! *
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   * Pretty Damn Quick

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