Parvathareddi Parthasarathy Naidu (81), of Chittoor Municipal Corporation, is on a mission to educate people of all ages on the importance of voting during elections.
District Collector Sagili Shanmohan felicitated Mr. Parthasarathy Naidu, popularly known as ‘Chittoor Gandhi’ for his social service, at an event held to mark National Voters’ Day at Nagaiah Kalakshetram here on Thursday.
Mr. Parthasarathy Naidu said that he had cast his vote for the first time in the general elections of 1962. “For the last six decades, I did not miss even a single election. Over the years, I have voted in dozens of elections — be it to the Lok Sabha, Assembly, municipal body, trade unions as well as voluntary organisations. I have always considered my right to vote as a privilege and the exercising of my franchise as a festival of sorts. It is an occasion for the people to celebrate the spirit of democracy,” Mr. Parthasarathy Naidu said in his address.
A former municipal councillor, Mr. Parthasarathy Naidu emphasises that it is essential for every eligible person, particularly students, to enrol as a voter. He said it was deplorable that despite modern technology making the process of enrolment much easier, youth were not evincing much interest in getting enrolled as voters.
“The elderly and the sick are also left out of the voting process sometimes as they find it difficult to reach the polling stations. Voluntary organisations, police officials and the official machinery should ensure that all the votes under the respective polling booth are polled on election day,” he said.
“Large-scale participation in voting alone would lead to a healthy democracy, and in the longer run, this practice would generate an oceanic awareness among the public on the importance of voting. This will lead to the removal of ill-practices such as creating bogus votes,” Mr. Parthasarathy Naidu said, taking a pledge that he would visit all the 50 divisions of Chittoor Municipal Corporation in the coming weeks to sensitise the voters.
