Though voting is compulsory during panchayat poll in Karnataka, there is no penal clause.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who arrived in Mysuru on Friday to cast his vote in the gram panchayat election, said the State government had amended the Panchayat Raj Act (Karnataka Panchayat Raj Amendment Bill 2015) earlier this year making voting in panchayat elections mandatory.
“So, I have come to cast my vote”, the Chief Minister told reporters at Siddaramana Hundi near here, where he cast his vote for Yedahalli gram panchayat. However, he hastened to add that there is no penal clause for violation.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said the government had made voting compulsory to create more awareness among the people about the importance of exercising one’s franchise.
Meanwhile, fielding queries from the reporters, the Chief Minister also expressed confidence that candidates supported by the Congress will emerge victorious in more than 50 per cent of the seats in the State. Though gram panchayat election is not contested by party symbols, most candidates are supporters of different political parties.
The Congress government’s programmes and achievements will ensure that the party’s supporters bag the most number of seats, he said.
Earlier, speaking to reporters at helipad, Mr. Siddaramaiah justified the proposed hike in tuition fees in private professional colleges this year by stating that there had no increase in the fees for the last three to four years.
When his attention was drawn to a reported statement by Minister in charge of the district V. Srinivas Prasad for arriving at an amicable solution between the royal family and the government over the acquisition of Mysuru palace, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was not aware of the context in which Mr. Prasad had made such a statement as the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.
