Indian Minister urges public to vote on National Voters' Day

On India's National Voters' Day, Indian Union Minister G Kishan Reddy appealed to the public to cast their vote for the nation.

"National Voters' Day is being celebrated across the nation today. We are making people aware of enrolling their names in the voter list and cast their vote for the nation," Kishan Reddy told ANI.

He thanked the Election Commission of India for ensuring the smooth conduct of elections.

Since 2011, National Voters' Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year across the country to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, i.e., January 25, 1950.

Meanwhile, emphasising that technology has been leveraged to bring in transparency and efficiency in all aspects of elections, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said on Thursday that misinformation, deep fakes and the use of artificial intelligence are being used increasingly to undercut the "faith and trust" of the people in the electoral process.

He further said that any attempts to compromise this fundamental tenet through false narratives will be met with swift and robust measures to uphold the integrity of our elections.

The Chief Election Commissioner extended warm greetings to all voters on the momentous occasion of the 14th National Voters' Day and said that any attempts to compromise this fundamental tenet through false narratives will be met with swift and robust measures to uphold the integrity of our elections

"While technology has made possible many enabling features to enrich the electoral process, it has also posed various challenges to the democratic exercise. We, however, stand firm in our resolve to maintain a level playing field and foster an informed electorate. Any attempts to compromise this fundamental tenet through false narratives will be met with swift and robust measures to uphold the integrity of our elections," he said.

He further urged first-time voters to exercise their franchise with full enthusiasm, adding that the youth will make a resounding and emphatic statement by voting and motivating their peers to do the same.

The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to create electoral awareness amongst citizens and encourage them to participate in the electoral process. Dedicated to the voters of the country, National Voters' Day is also used to facilitate the enrollment of voters, especially the newly eligible young voters. New voters are felicitated and handed over their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) in the NVD functions held across the country.

NVD is celebrated at the national, state, district, constituency and polling booth levels, which makes it one of the largest celebrations in the country.

(ANI)