Make voting compulsory: Karan Singh

Underlining the necessity of electoral reforms, senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh on Monday said that voting should be made mandatory.

Underlining the necessity of electoral reforms, senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh on Monday said that voting should be made mandatory.

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"We need electoral reforms. One of the reasons I may say so is massive corruption around us. Elections have become so expensive...vast sums of money are spent on elections," Dr Singh said, delivering a lecture on 'India-The unfinished Revolutions' in Mumbai.

"This is not something conducive to the democratic system. Somehow or the other, bring in state financing of elections. We need to have some kind of control on political parties, over the expenses," he added.

The program had been organised by Indo-American Society in Mumbai.

Dr Singh also stressed importance of voting. "If we live in a democratic society then why should not it be necessary to vote?" he asked.

"People say it is undemocratic. Well, if you live in a democratic society, then why should not it be necessary to vote? It can be a paid holiday. Nobody will lose his day's wages."

Expressing resentment over frequent disruption of Parliament by the opposition MPs, Dr Singh said, "Opposition doesn't realise that disrupting Parliament doesn't help them, it helps the government. If the Parliament is functioning properly then the opposition have their say."