Puttur firm to cut pay for those who don’t vote

In their eagerness to supplement the efforts of the Election Commission to ensure 100 percent voter turnout, one Puttur-based IT company has warned its employees that they will lose one month’s pay if they do not vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Web People, the Puttur-based IT firm, which has 25 employees in the average age group of 26 years has issued a circular making it clear that the IT firm will cut one month’s salary for those who fail to vote in the LS polls.

When contacted, The Web People Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aditya confirmed that such a warning had been issued to employees as there are no laws compelling voters to vote.

“The success of a democracy depends on the participation of voters in the election process. In the absence of any law, a large number of voters just do not turn up to cast votes. Though 50%-60% polling is considered good enough, as a society we can do much better,” stressed Aditya.

“As the first step, our employees took a solemn pledge to vote ethically in the elections,” he added.

“We also have declared a holiday on April 18 and 22, as we have employees from Bengaluru and other places. To ensure that the employees have indeed voted, their fingers will be examined for the electoral ink,” Aditya said.

The CEO also added that they had received positive feedback to their initiative from the employees and others.