Successful conduct of elections during pandemic an extraordinary achievement of our democracy: President

On the occasion of National Voters' Day, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind on Monday called the successful conduct of elections in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh an extraordinary achievement of our democracy.

The President also praised the Election Commission of India for conducting successful and safe elections last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President virtually addressed the 11th National Voters' Day celebrations, being orgsed by the Election Commission of India, today.

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 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 further said that the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, 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.

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. January 25, 1950.

( With inputs from ANI )