The Hindu Business Line : `People must cast their votes for sure'

HOCKEY Olympian N. Mukesh Kumar, Prof B. Krishnarajulu Naidu of the International Institute of Information Technology (III), who has a special liking for nuclear reactors and science education and Prof S.V. Satyanarayana of the Osmania University's Telugu Department; might have different occupations and interests.

But, they, along with some other intellectuals, sat together to discuss a common issue that affected them all. They were participating in a discussion on `Elections - Ill effects and responsibilities of voters' organised by the non-governmental organisation Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV) here on Sunday.

Mukesh Kumar, a three-time Olympian, with 327 international matches under his belt, felt that people should vote for a good candidate, taking sometime off from their work. ``The educated and business people are of the opinion that casting or not casting their votes do not make much of a difference. It is not correct. Take sometime off and cast your vote, for that would give you a representative who can attend to your problems,'' he said.

Prof Krishnarajulu Naidu alleged that an election to the Assembly and Lok Sabha meant a gainful employment for leaders. ``It's worthwhile for them to shun their professions and join politics,'' he said.

``An MLA earns Rs 20,000 a month, far more than the average earnings of a software engineer. This is the official figure. In fact, it has become an office of profit,'' he regretted. ``People have lost faith in the ballot because it has become a rich man's game,'' he observed.

Finding fault with demarking constituencies on the geographical lines, he said a mechanism should be evolved in order to elect the most talented people from different walks of life. He also pointed out that Representation of People's Act did not mandate the candidates to get a minimum number of votes to win.

Prof S.V. Satyanarayana felt that one should cast one's vote at any cost. "Otherwise, someone else will," he said.

Dr Babu Rao of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) said the voters' list should be verified properly so that everybody would get a chance to vote. "Nearly 40 per cent of the people in the newly developed areas have not been included in the voters' list," he said.

He called for introduction of a voting option where people could mark `none of the above' if they could not find a suitable candidate. Dr Babu Rao was apprehensive about the possible manipulation of electronic voting machines.

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