Former President Kalam lauds Election Commission

New Delhi, Jan 25 (ANI): Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday applauded the work of Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting free and fair elections in the country.

Dr. Kalam, who was the chief guest at the national function of second National Voters' Day (NVD) here, said that youth are the "vibrant partners" of democracy.

He further said that in order for Election Commission to perform well in future it is required that Information and Communications technology is used in the electoral process.

"This will not only save cost but also make way for transparency," said Dr. Kalam.

" India requires a shift towards developmental politics to raise her poor from the clutches of poverty. He further added that correlation between wealth and politics needs to be removed and conscience needs to play a big role for that," he added.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, in his address said that National Voters' day function is being run on a "mission mode" and the motive is to enhance the voter enrolment level until all voters are registered across India.

"The National Voters' Day is not just for the voters to take a pledge but also for the Commission to resolve how to make voters participation friendlier and attractive," he said.

Dr. Quraishi further said that Election Commission launched vigorous campaigns, again as a part of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme, to disseminate necessary information, motivate voters and facilitate participation.

Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma, and eminent foreign dignitaries and representatives from political parties were also present at the occasion.

The national function of second National Voters' Day (NVD) was observed here today to carry forward a practice that was initiated last year to coincide with the foundation day of the Election Commission of India and also to enhance the participation of the voters, especially the youth, in the democratic process.

The Election Commission's objective behind National Voters' Day is to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones, by using this occasion to make universal adult suffrage a complete reality, and thereby enhance the quality of Indian democracy.

The day is also utilized to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.

As per the reports of Voters' registration, approximately 3.83 crore new registrations have been done throughout the country, out of which 1.11 crore are in the age group 18-19 as on 01st January, 2012, which was the qualifying date.

Last year, 52 lakh young voters, who had attained the age of 18 years, had been enrolled which marked the biggest empowerment of youth on a single day anywhere in the world. (ANI)