Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 15 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said that the 'My Vote My Right' campaign of the Congress government has been designed to create awareness about democratic values and develop leadership skills among youth and students.
Speaking at the International Day of Democracy at Vidhana Soudha, he said, "Ballot is stronger than a bullet. The monarchy is sitting at home today and the elected representatives are governing. That is the power of the ballot. It is this voting power that gave rise to leaders like Siddaramaiah and myself."
In 2007, the UN General Assembly declared September 15 as International Day of Democracy.
"Once Arjuna expresses his helplessness to Lord Krishna when he was being attacked by the enemies. To which, Krishna says that there would always be someone to protect you. Similarly, it is the voting right that will protect you in a democracy," he said, reminding teachings of lord Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita.
"We are all living in a democratic system today and ours is the biggest democracy in the world. The concept of democracy took birth in this land when Basavanna set up Anubhava Mantapa 900 years ago to promote an egalitarian society," the Congress leader added.
"In a competitive world like today, it is next to impossible to progress without leadership skills. It is important to teach our youth and students leadership skills. In politics, 49% is zero and 51% is 100. Youth need to understand it," he said.
He also talked about the importance of even a single vote in democracy.
"Late Dhruvanarayan had won an election with a margin of just one vote. It so happened that the opponent's driver himself had not voted that day as he got delayed. This incident shows the importance of every single vote in a democracy," he recalled.
The Congress leader also discussed the lowering of the voting age in the country from 21 to 18 years during the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1988.
"I had the opportunity to witness the debate on the reduction of the voting age from 21 to 18 in the Parliament. The Opposition pounced on the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for trying to pass this legislation. The Opposition accused the Prime Minister of giving voting rights to playing kids. Replying to this criticism, he (Rajiv Gandhi) had said, 'If we can give rifles to youth and ask them to fight at the borders when they turn 18, why can't we give them the power to vote?' He had realised the power of youth," Shivakumar reminisced.
"Judiciary, Legislative, Executive and Media are the four pillars of democracy. The judiciary intervenes when we make a mistake; the media highlights our mistakes. But in spite of this, some are trying to steal votes. Rahul Gandhi has started a fight against this vote fraud," he added.