PM Modi lauds ECI for strengthening democracy in country in his ‘Mann Ki Baat” on AIR

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Patna : PM Narendra Modi on January 27, 2019, lauded the Election Commission of India (ECI) for relentlessly strengthening the democracy and urged the young generation to register themselves as voters, if they are eligible.

“All of us must realise that being a voter, earning the right to vote is an important rite of passage in one’s life; it’s one of its achievements. Simultaneously, the sentiment that voting is our sacred duty, should grow within us naturally. For any reason, if one is not able to vote, it should pain one. One should be saddened to witness any wrong taking place in the country,” PM Modi said in the 52nd episode of his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on AIR on January 27, 2019.

“Our Country possesses a very important institution; besides being an integral part of our democracy, it is even older than our Republic – I am referring to our Election Commission. The 25th of January was the Formation Day of the Election Commission, which is celebrated now as the National Voters’ Day. The scale at which elections are held in India is a matter of great awe for the world. It is natural for every citizen to feel proud of the Election Commission’s meticulous organising abilities. Our Country leaves, no stone unturned to ensure that every citizen of India who is a registered voter, rightfully avails of the opportunity to cast his vote,” the PM said.

Whereas we hear of a polling station at 15,000 feet above mean sea level in Himachal Pradesh we also learn about the same being organised in remote islands of the Andaman Nicobar archipelago, the PM said. ” And you must have heard about Gujarat … in a remote place in Gir forest, there is a polling booth for a sole voter. Just imagine … for that one and only voter!  Caring for that lone voter, for ensuring that he or she enjoys full opportunity to exercise the right to vote, personnel of Election Commission travel to distant remote places to make necessary arrangements for the voting.  This is the beauty of our democracy,” PM Modi said.

“This year, our country will undergo Lok Sabha elections. The first time ever, young persons born in the 21st Century will exercise their Right to Vote in the Lok Sabha Elections. They face the opportunity to shoulder responsibilities pertaining to the Country. They have embarked upon the journey of being partners in Nation building,” he said.

The PM said on January 23,2019, the country celebrated the birth anniversary of Netaji in an uncommon, special manner. ” I was fortunate to get an opportunity to inaugurate a museum dedicated to heroes who fought in India’s freedom struggle. You may be aware of the fact that inside Red Fort, many chambers and structures lay locked & unused for several decades after Independence. Those very chambers have now been turned into exquisite museums. A museum dedicated to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army; Yaad-e-Jalian, reminiscences of Jalianwala Bagh and 1857 – India’s first war of Independence constitute the premises of ‘Kranti Mandir’, that has been dedicated to the nation,” PM Modi said.

the PM said, “When the tricolour was hoisted at the Red Fort in October 2018, it surprised everyone, since conventionally, this is done on the 15th of August. The occasion was the completion of 75 years of the formation of the Azad Hind Government. Subhash Babu will always be remembered as a brave soldier. That files associated with Netaji be declassified has been a long standing demand for years. And I am happy that we could manage to do the same. I remember the day when Netaji’s family paid a visit to the Prime Minister’s residence. We dwelt at length on myriad facets of Netaji Subhash Bose, offering him tributes.”

Talking about Clean India programme, the PM said that more than five lakh fifty thousand villages and 600 districts have declared themselves free of open defecation and sanitation coverage has crossed 98% limit in rural India whereas latrines have been provided to nearly nine crore households. “Due to the unequivocal support from the people of India, today India is moving towards liberation from defecation in the open much prior to October 2, 2019, so that we may pay our homage to Bapu on his 150th birth anniversary,” the PM said.