President inaugurates Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Election Commission of India

WIDE SPECTRUM OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP JOINS CELEBRATIONS

The President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that the Election Commission of India has helped strengthening of democracy at home which has enhanced the prestige of India’s institutional mechanisms. The President said “it is for these reasons that the Election Commission of India has been called upon often, to share its experiences about the conduct of elections with the other countries. The President , Shrimati Pratibha Devising Patil said this, while inaugurating the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Election Commission of India, here today. The function was attended by the Vice President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar, Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Veerappa Moily, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Shri A. Raja, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, the Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, the Convener of the National Democratic Alliance, Shri Sharad Yadav, Members of Cabinet and Council of Ministers, Governors and Lt. Governors, Chief Ministers, several leaders from the National and State recognized political parties, former Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners and thirty Heads of electoral bodies from all parts of the world.

The President said that participation of wide spectrum of political leadership at today’s function affirms our deep faith in democracy. The Election Commission has been a part of the journey of our Republic since its very inception. It has been working with great responsibility from election to election and contributing to taking the nation forward step by step, from one destination to another, from strength to strength and bringing stability to our democratic system. “We can be justifiably proud that free and fair elections have been held with regularity in our country in the last six decades. India and democracy have become intertwined concepts and it is hard to imagine one without the other. Democracy, the very essence of our Constitution, has become our nation’s identity”, the President added.

The President further said “Elections are the foundation stone of any democracy. The conduct of free, fair and impartial elections depends much upon the performance of the three stakeholders. They are – an independent and impartial electoral machinery; political parties and candidates; and the electorate. All of them must act responsibly. The Indian election process has the Model Code of Conduct, that lays down the norms of behaviour and actions which, parties and contesting candidates shall adhere to, at the time of elections. As it should, the Commission has been making every effort to create a level playing field between various candidates and has earned the reputation of strictly and impartially monitoring activities of candidates in constituencies through its Election Observers. The Commission has always been willing to use technology for modernization and for the better conduct of elections. In this context, over the years, several measures have been taken such as - computerization of electoral rolls and Photo Identity Cards for voters”. The President further stated that India has impressive democratic credentials, but yet has the challenge of becoming a “role model” for other countries. “This requires that we should be aware of the impediments, the lacunae and malpractices in the electoral process. These would have to be removed with determination, to make our democracy cleaner, healthier and stronger.”

While extending the felicitations to the Election Commission of India for their achievements in the 60 years of their existence, the President expressed confidence that the electoral process and democracy in India will continue to be strong and vibrant.

In his address, the Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the Election Commission has been adapting itself in a remarkable fashion to the evolving society, polity and technological changes to fulfil its mandate. He has said that a celebration is a festive occasion. In the affairs of a nation, it is also a time for introspection. Six decades on, a fair verdict would be that the glass is neither empty nor full but well above the half way mark. “We have established and sustained procedural democracy. And yet, Dr. Ambedkar’s foreboding about the contradiction between political equality and social and economic inequality remains valid. The realisation of “one person one vote and one vote one value” continues to be elusive”, the Vice President added. While listing out the three challenges, the Vice President said real empowerment and participative governance at the third tier of government is still a work-in-progress and hoped that the electoral process at the local self government level would benefit from coordination and sharing of experiences and resources with the Election Commission of India, as recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission. Second Challenge, the Vice President said, relates to unaccounted election expenditure by the political parties and their candidates, leading to distribution of freebies, liquor, and cash during elections, surrogate advertisements and the media related malpractice of “paid news” and “coverage packages”. He said “each of these is a blot on the democratic process and on the objective of free and fair elections. Corrective action by the EC and our political parties is imperative.” Lastly, the challenge for the political parties now is to bring about substantive organisational democracy as insisted upon by the ECI , the Vice President added. To conclude his address, the Vice President has said that the Election Commission deserves the nation’s appreciation and gratitude for making our soil more fertile for the seed of democracy.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his address said that the Election Commission of India is one of the pillars of Indian democracy. In the past 60 years, it has acquitted itself exceptionally well in the onerous task of conducting elections to our Parliament and to the State legislatures. Dr. Singh said “the Election Commission was given the task of converting this aspiration into a reality in which every adult Indian, irrespective of caste, creed, gender, income or location would get an opportunity to cast his or her vote. This was undoubtedly a gigantic task, right from enumerating voters to locating polling booths at easily accessible places and ensuring secrecy and security of the ballot paper. The sheer number of voters and the logistical challenges on account of distances and accessibility were truly huge. But the Commission to its credit and to our pride rose to the challenge magnificently. It goes to the Commission’s credit that despite these enormous difficulties the whole world perceives elections in India as being fair and free.”

While applauding the achievements of the Election Commission, and indeed Indian democracy, the Prime Minister said “we would do well to ponder on some of the challenges that still lie ahead. There is a genuine concern that politics in our country is not attracting the best and the brightest among our people. It is also a matter of concern that educated professionals and the growing middleclass often shy away from the participation in the electoral process. Many of them are not even willing to take the trouble to cast their vote. Poor turn-out in many constituencies undermines, to some extent, the legitimacy of the victor in a `first past the post' system that we follow. There is a general worry that people without sufficient means cannot contest elections. The background of many contestants, and quite often the winning ones, does not inspire confidence in the voters. There is no easy answer to these questions. While there is near unanimity that something needs to be done about these issues, there is no consensus on how exactly to go about it. The Election Commission has considered some of these problems and given its recommendations. The Standing Committee of our Parliament is also seized of many of these issues. I hope in the coming years we will be able to find solutions to these problems by consensus, and in the process improve the quality of our democracy” the Prime Minister added.



In his welcome address, the Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Navin B. Chawla said that the Commission stands overwhelmed by the scale of the response that our invitation has received. The presence of the highest dignitaries of our country on the dais, is testimony to their regard for the work of the Commission. Equally overwhelming is the presence of leaders from all recognised national parties and from recognised state parties, he added.

Recalling the Election Commission of India (ECI) coming into existence on 25th January, 1950, Shri Chawla said “it was not merely an inception of one more institution but an inauguration of a bold experiment which the intuitive wisdom of the makers of the Constitution chiselled into an independent body to deliver democracy to a country of immense diversity, which was bound together by a common will, to forge a national identity that transcends cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences. Each time a vote is cast, it is a reaffirmation of faith in the nation and in democracy.”

Shri Chawla further said “the Constituent Assembly of India had, as a historic measure, adopted the principle of universal adult suffrage reposing faith in the wisdom of the common Indian to elect his representative to the seat of power. In order to make this happen, it created the Election Commission of India. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the superintendence, direction and control of elections to Parliament and State Legislatures vest in the Election Commission.”

Giving the credit to the voters of India for upholding the democratic traditions of our nation, Shri Chawla said that the voters of India whose commitment to democracy is the driving spirit that guides the destiny of India as a modern democracy. Political parties both at the national and state levels have displayed immense maturity and commitment to strengthening electoral democracy. Their remarkable contribution to the Indian electoral system is their decision to voluntarily adopt and abide by the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct, a unique document which has evolved to serve indeed as a moral code for Indian elections, Shri Chawla added.

Referring to the challenges and growing complexities in conducting General Elections in India, the Chief Election Commissioner said “the conduct of a General Election in India is indisputably the largest management exercise in the world. The growing complexities of the electoral landscape has also thrown new challenges for election managers. We have been constantly innovating in our responses to address these challenges.”

On the occasion, Shri Chawla commended all those who are involved in the election process for their commitment and integrity in delivering elections, sometimes against many odds.

In his address, the convenor of National Democratic Alliance, Shri Sharad Yadav said that it is a historic day in the Indian democracy. Lauding the Election Commission for taking several initiatives for conducting elections in the country in a free, fair and transparent manner, Shri Yadav suggested further simplification of procedure to enable the voters in large number to exercise their franchise.

On the occasion, the Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, in her address, said that in the past six decades, the Election Commission has helped in deepening the democracy by ensuring regular Parliamentary / State Legislative Elections. She said that the Election Commission is the most important institution for empowerment. Election Commission has moved forward from Ballot to Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and is pioneer in using the technology. Process and procedures followed by the Election Commission during the elections command wide spread acceptability and the Election Commission is the hallmark of democracy, Smt. Gandhi added.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, while congratulating the officials and the staff of the Election Commission on the occasion, said that this is time to think, what has been achieved in the last 60 years and to identify the deficiencies and to plan for the future.

In his address, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Shri Veerappa Moily said that elections breed life into democracy and are act of faith in democracy. He assured full support to the Election Reform Agenda put across by the Election Commission to the Government. He said to evolve a consensus on this issue, a series of consultations will be initiated from June, this year.

In her address, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar said that it is a matter of pride for all that our democracy has stood test of time. She referred to the various initiatives taken by the Election Commission for successfully conducting fifteen General Elections to the Lok Sabha and several elections to the State Legislative Assemblies. She said the theme for the Diamond Jubilee Year “Greater participation for a stronger democracy” will enable the further strengthening of our Parliamentary Democracy.

The President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil also released a commemorative Postage Stamp in the denomination of Rupees Five along with First Day Cover. Shri A. Raja, Minister for Communications and Information Technology gave the introduction of the commemorative stamp prepared & issued by the Department of Posts.

On the occasion, the Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari released the Book titled “Lok Sabha Election – 2009 Reinforcing Indian Democracy” and presented the first copy to the Hon’ble President of India. While giving the brief overview of the contents of the book, the Election Commissioner, Dr. S.Y. Quraishi said that the book provides information on Electoral Rolls, Election Management, Innovative Measures and Best Practices, pictures and statistics relating to General Election to the 15th Lok Sabha, 2009. Dr. Quraishi said that photos bring out colour and splendour of elections conducted in the country and hoped that the book will be valuable source to the election managers, researchers etc.

The Election Commissioner, Shri V.S. Sampath gave the vote of thanks to all present at the function.

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RM/AS
(Release ID :57302)