No Compulsory Voting or Freebie Restrictions in India: Government

The Indian government has no proposals to make voting compulsory or to restrict distribution of freebies during elections. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal conveyed this to the Lok Sabha, adding that the recent elections saw a 65.79% turnout. Assam and Bihar recorded the highest and lowest turnouts, respectively.

There is no proposal to make voting in the country compulsory, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

The Lower House was also told that there was no proposal to restrict the distribution of freebies to the public on the eve of elections.

In two separate written replies, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said there was no proposal for making voting compulsory in the country and also no plan to restrict the distribution of freebies by parties on the eve of polls.

He also said the Election Commission had informed that overall 65.79 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the recently-held Lok Sabha elections.

Assam and Bihar had highest and lowest turnout, respectively, for all phases of the Lok Sabha polls.

(With inputs from agencies.)