HP for compulsory voting, like Gujarat

A day after the Gujarat Assembly passed a landmark bill which makes voting compulsory in local body polls, the Himachal Pradesh government said it favoured the same to make democracy broad-based.

"Himachal Pradesh will also try to introduce compulsory voting in the local bodies elections to make poll at grassroot level widely representative," Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told reporters in Dharamsala. Going a step further, Dhumal said he would try to impress upon the Centre to make adult franchise mandatory in state as well as parliamentary elections for making democracy more representative.

The chief minister, meanwhile, said in a bid to make Himachal polythene free, the state government would make some arrangements to collect polythene and other plastic items to be used in road metalling work. The state is launching a week-long special campaign from tomorrow to make HP polythene free.