RIGHT TO VOTE
   Date :28-Jan-2020

Time and Tide_1 &nbs
 
PRESIDENT Mr. Ram Nath Kovind has quite justifiably lamented that there are still people in the country who do not understand the importance of their vote. Speaking on the occasion of National Voters’ Day, marking the establishment of the Election Commission in 1950, the President said that there are still countries where people have to fight and make sacrifices to get voting right. But in India some people refuse to exercise that right though it is freely and rightfully available. This is the travesty. Such people lose the right to criticise the Government or question governmental policies. Ironically the percentage of those skipping voting is greater among the so called literate people for whom voting day is a mere holiday. In spite of this there has been a steady rise in the percentage of voting over the years as awareness level rises all over the country. Some people do not understand that voting is a window to express the country’s abiding faith in the democratic polity and its constitution. And the Indian people have proved it in ample measure in the last seven decades of democratic rule.
 
PEP TO TOURISM
 
THE Union Tourism Ministry has announced a novel scheme to promote tourism within the country. Speaking at the National Tourism Conference in Bhubaneswar the other day, Union Tourism Minister Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel has announced an incentive to those who visit atleast 15 tourist places within the country by funding their travel expenses. This shows keenness of the Central Government to promote tourism among the countrymen. There is no denying that every state in the country has its own remarkable features that remain to be explored by the people from other states. Tourism provides an opportunity to understand the rich socio-cultural, historical heritage which every state possesses. These peculiarities are unique to those particular states and need to be savoured in the place of their origin. Tourism also has potential to create jobs and trigger economic activity. However it is essential that proper infrastructure is put in place as also regular upkeep of places of tourist interest is ensured.