Udupi: The Udupi District administration observed National Voters Day to create awareness among voters at Vaikunta Baliga Law College Udupi here, on January 25.
The programme began with an invocation; Additional Deputy Commissioner, Chennabasappa welcomed the gathering. Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat, Priyanka Mary Francis inaugurated the programme by lighting a lamp.
In her inaugural message Priyanka Marry said that ours was country with strong democracy and secular values. Every voter should exercise his or her franchise in order to bring a stable and strong government, without shirking from our duty of voting. “The educated section which is the creme of the society should do this and set an example,” she added.
“It is easy to blame someone, mostly a leader for the hardship or problems we are forced to go through. But, we are equally at fault for having relaxed on the voting day when we are supposed to do the most responsible thing, vote. Hence, we as a society don’t have the right to complain,” she pointed out.
All the voters who participated in the programme took a pledge on the occasion. Superintendent of Police Udupi District, Annamalai K administrated the pledge. Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) were distributed to the newly registered voters on the occasion. Prizes were also distributed to the winners of essay and debate competition held as a part of National Voters Day.
In his message, Annamalai said that India celebrated the 6th National Voters’ Day (NVD) on this day. It was the biggest festival of democracy, next only to a general election. Over 30 million voters will get their identity cards at over six lakh booth-level functions all over the country, including nearly 10 million young people who have just turned 18. All elections since 2010 have seen record turnouts. Election 2014 broke a six-decade record with 66.4 per cent turnout. In some states, this crossed 80 per cent. In half the states, women voters outnumbered men. Many have described this as a ‘participation revolution’. “Young and educated people should vote since it is their right and duty to do so,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner, Dr R Vishal presided over the function and said that people should not show any disinterest in exercising their right to vote. They should choose the right representative and vote for him/her. “When the country became independent, the people used to fearlessly exercise their right to vote and choose good representatives,” he added.