‘PM should be elected directly’

LUCKNOW - Direct elections should be held for the prime minister’s post, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said Sunday.

Speaking at the regional seminar on electoral reforms sponsored jointly by the Election Commission of India and the union law ministry, Nishank said: “I am firmly of the view that unless one enjoys the confidence of the people of the country, he should not have the privilege to become the nation’s prime minister.”

“That is possible only if the people have the right to directly elect their prime minister.”

Nishank urged the Election Commission to devise some measure that may give an instant confirmation on the electronic voting machine (EVM) that the cast vote was successfully added to the candidate for whom it was intended.

He demanded strong preventive and penal measures to debar the candidates contesting and campaigning during criminal detentions, and demanded enforcing minimum educational qualification as one of the eligibility norms.

Nishank also stressed the need for making voting compulsory.