Key Provisions of the Act
On December 13, 1988, B. Shankaranand, the time’s minister of water resources, introduced the Constitution (62nd Amendment) Bill, 1988, which became the 61st Amendment Act, 1988.
- A significant portion of India’s voters—52 lakh of whom are currently of voting age—determine how elections turn out in the nation.
- B. Shankaranand, who was the water resources minister at the time, proposed it in the Lok Sabha on December 13, 1988.
- Article 326 of the Indian Constitution regulates elections to the Houses and State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
- The lower house gave it some thought on December 15, 1988, and approved it. On December 20, the Rajya Sabha approved the measure. More than half of the state legislatures had to support the bill, which was duly accomplished.
- On March 28, 1989, the law obtained presidential approval. As a result, the act went into force on March 28, 1989, and starting at the age of 18, any citizen who was otherwise eligible may take part in India’s democratic procedures.
- A proposal to decrease the voting age to 18 years old was presented to promote youth participation in the nation’s electoral process.
What is the 61st Amendment of the Indian Constitution?
Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure is remembered for many important decisions. One of the most important decisions among them was to give the right to vote to the youth of 18 years. On December 20, 1988, the right to reduce the voting age was from 21 to 18 years. On December 20, 1988, legislation was approved in Parliament to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 years. There was also opposition to this decision. However, according to him, youth power is necessary for nation-building. Rajiv Gandhi’s decision to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 years increased 5 crores of young voters.