The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, virtually graced and addressed the 11th National Voters’ Day Celebrations, being organised by the Election Commission of India, today (January 25, 2021). During the event, the President conferred the National Awards for the year 2020-21 and also launched the Election Commission of India’s Web Radio: ‘Hello Voters’ – an online digital radio service.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that on the National Voters’ Day, he would like to remind that we should always respect the valuable right to vote. The right to vote is not a simple right; people around the world have struggled a lot for this. Since independence, our Constitution has given equal voting rights to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of merit, religion, race, caste. For this, we are indebted to the makers of our Constitution.

The President said that the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Dr. BhimraoAmbedkar, considered the right to vote as paramount. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all of us, especially our youth, who get the right to vote for the first time, to exercise their franchise with the utmost sincerity and inspire others too to do so.

Praising the Election Commission of India for conducting successful and safe elections in Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh last year during the Covid-19 pandemic, the President said that it is an extraordinary achievement of our democracy. He was happy to note that the Election Commission has taken a number of innovative and timely measures to conduct smooth, inclusive and safe elections.

The National Voters’ Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, all across the country to mark the foundation day of Election Commission of India, i.e. 25th January 1950. The main purpose of the National Voters’ Day celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize enrolment, especially for the new voters. Dedicated to the voters of the country, the day is utilized to spread awareness among voters and for promoting informed participation in the electoral process.

Please click here to see the President Speech

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DS/SH/AK