Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has urged the upcoming Indian Foreign Service officers to leverage the soft power of India on the global stage. He was interacting with IFS Officer Trainees on Friday at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Affairs. Thirty seven IFS OTs and two diplomats from Bhutan, undergoing the training, participated in the induction training programme event, where Mr. Kumar spoke.
The theme of the programme was ‘India – the Mother of Democracies and Role of ECI’, where Mr. Kumar said, “India is one of the oldest democracies in the world. It has now achieved a distinct identity of a modern vibrant electoral democracy on a global stage.” He also pointed out that in the last 72 years, India has seen 17 general elections to the Lower House of the Parliament and more than 400 elections to the State Legislative Assemblies, with the universal acceptance of electoral mandate and smooth transfer of power after each and every election.
“Over 1 million polling stations and over 1 crore polling officials ensure inclusive, accessible, participatory and tech-driven elections. India’s elections are often hailed as the world’s largest peace-time mobilization, conducted with six sigma precision in terms of movement of men and materials,” he said during the interaction. He also emphazised that IFS officers should utilize this as an example of the comprehensive national power of India.
He also noted the question about voting exercise by overseas voters . “Time has come for the fifth largest economy of the world to invoke technology driven methodology to facilitate its over 1.34 crore overseas voters to participate in elections by Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System. In this potential endeavour, the role of the foreign service and our High Commissions/Embassies worldwide, would be vital”, he said. He also addressed the common challenges being faced by EMBs in the conduct of free and fair elections, and said the rising threat of fake news on social media is derailing the election narratives.
