New Delhi: The Congress has approached the Election Commission against the use of NOTA option in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The party asserted that it was violative of the Constitution and electoral laws, but the poll panel maintained that it was not a new direction and was introduced in 2014.

Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari met the Election Commission and demanded that the option of "None of the Above" (NOTA) be removed from use in the August 8 Rajya Sabha polls, where it is facing a battle of prestige in Gujarat.

"The use of NOTA in an indirect election is contrary to the mandate of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, as well as conduct of election rules," the Congress memorandum said.

Sharma also said the use of NOTA should have been made applicable through amendment in laws and not by merely changing the rules.

When asked why the party was silent when the rules were made applicable by the Election Commission in January 2014 when the UPA was in power, Tewari said, "It missed the collective wisdom of Parliament".

Ahmed Patel, political secretary to party president Sonia Gandhi, too made a similar allegation.

"First Rajya Sabha election was postponed. Second NOTA was permitted post notification. Reasons are best known to the Election Commission," Patel, who is seeking another Rajya Sabha term from Gujarat, posted on Twitter.

The Congress is alleging that the NOTA option has been brought with an aim of influencing the result of Gujarat RS poll.