‘If voters can hire a neta....’: AAP's Raghav Chadha pitches Right to Recall in India, here's why

AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday called for the introduction of the ‘Right to Recall’ in India. He said voters should not be forced to wait five years to remove non-performing MPs and MLAs.

In a post on X, Chadha argued that voters deserve the power to hold their representatives directly accountable. “If voters can HIRE a neta, they should be able to FIRE the neta too. If Indian voters have the Right to Elect, they should have the ‘RIGHT TO RECALL’ too,” he wrote.

 

 

 

 

The Aam Aadmi Party leader explained that the Right to Recall is “a mechanism that empowers voters to de-elect an elected representative, before their term ends, if they fail to discharge their duties.”

Chadha compared the idea with existing constitutional checks on those in power. He said that there is no profession, apart from politics, where one underperforms for 5 years with no consequences. 

“If we can impeach the President, the Vice President and judges, and move a no confidence motion against an elected government mid-term, then why should voters be forced to tolerate a non performing MP or MLA for five full years. Five years is too long. There is no profession where you underperform for five years with zero consequences,” he said.

Pointing to global examples, Chadha noted that recall provisions or voter-initiated removal mechanisms already exist in several democracies such as the US, Switzerland, etc. He also pressed for the need for safeguards to prevent the process from being misused for political vendetta. 

He suggested that at least “35 to 40 percent voters should back a recall trigger through a verified petition before any recall vote is held.”  He also proposed a “cooling period" of minimum 18 months lock in after election so the representative has time to deliver and cannot be targeted immediately after winning.

Chadha said recall should not become a tool for everyday political disagreements. “Clear grounds- Recall only for proven misconduct, fraud, corruption or serious neglect of duty, not everyday political disagreements,” he wrote.

He added that even after these steps, the final decision must rest with voters. “Final test- Recall succeeds only if more than 50 percent voters support removal in the recall vote.”

Calling the move “citizen empowerment,” Chadha said it would compel political parties to field better candidates, curb corruption, and make democracy more accountable. “Voters have the right to vote someone into office and they should have the right to vote them out of office too,” he said.