Vote for Society, Not Individual, says Lokayukta Santosh Hegde
Pics: Savitha B R
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
Mangalore, Apr 9: Voting should be made mandatory so as to do away with bribery and propaganda by politicians during election time, said Lokayuta Santosh Hegde while speaking at an interaction programme at SDM College of Business Management here on Saturday April 9.
Money plays a prominent role in elections, and is the root cause of many problems, thus in order to lessen the impact of money in elections, people should vote in large numbers. Voting is one's right, but it should also become one's duty. A minimum of 90 percent voter turnout would result in the sustainability of the true meaning of democracy, he said.
He urged the people to go beyond individual preferences and vote for the betterment of the society. He called for a system that would allow the voters to take action against non-performing representatives.
He observed that the present growth of GDP which the government is showing is the GDP of billionaires, and not of the poor.
He further said that politics and bureaucracy were 'conjoined twins,' and added that political representatives should not be given the power to transfer officers.
On Jan Lokpal bill, he said that it aims to not only eradicate corruption but also to control maladministration, and even the judiciary will have to be on its toes, he said.