Value voting right: Prez

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 25

Lamenting that there are a number of voters who do not understand the importance of voting right, President Ram Nath Kovind today reminded them that in several democratic countries people had to struggle to have right to exercise franchise.

Addressing an event here to mark National Voters’ Day, which was organised by the Election Commission, the President, however, commended the voters for enhancing the credibility of Indian democracy in the world through their participation in 17 general elections, which began in 1952.

“For this, I congratulate all the voters of the country. But even today some of our voters do not understand the importance of their franchise. They should know that in most of the democratic countries of the world common people had to agitate to get the franchise and many sacrifices had to be made,” Kovind said.

He also pointed out that even in old democracies like England, women were able to get equal voting rights in the 20th century, after nearly three decades of struggle. But the founding fathers of Indian Constitution gave this invaluable right to all adult Indians without any discrimination, the President noted.

“Soon after Independence, India granted adult suffrage to all citizens, but the decision came under a lot of criticism as at that time, democracy was limited to a few developed and prosperous countries only,” he said.

There were reservations that with only 16 per cent literacy and poverty, universal adult franchise would not be successful. He said the decision was dubbed as “biggest gamble in the history” of mankind. But our voters proved it to be the biggest successful experiment in democracy in the world history, he added.