From correspondents in Delhi, India, 06:30 PM IST

Voicing unhappiness over the low voter turnout in the national capital, of around 40 percent, former police officer Kiran Bedi said Thursday that voting day should not be made a public holiday.

'The message is loud and clear... you do not need the whole day to go and vote. You just need 2-3 hours, and not eight hours,' Bedi, the first woman officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), told reporters after casting her vote.

'I think it is principally wrong to declare it as a holiday because then people are not mobile... they are lazy and take it as a family get-together,' she added.

'I think it should be declared as a half day. This means either you go to work and then vote or you vote first and then go to work. This way even the supervisors get the responsibility to ensure that their employees vote,' said Bedi, also a social activist.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)