Modi casts vote in Guj, says "voter ID" more powerful than IED

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cast his vote here in Gujarat for the Lok Sabha polls and said the power of a "voter ID" is much more than the "IED" of terrorists.

Modi appealed to people to come out in large numbers to vote in all the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls.

He arrived at a polling booth set up at Nishan High School, located in Ranip area of Ahmedabad city, in an open jeep in the morning and exercised his democratic right.

BJP president Amit Shah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar constituency, which covers Ahmedabad city, welcomed him outside the school and accompanied him to the booth.

While arriving at the polling booth, Modi greeted thousands of people who gathered on both sides of the road.

After casting his vote, Modi walked some distance from the polling booth and interacted briefly with mediapersons.

"Indian democracy presents an example before the world. While on one hand, an IED (improvised explosive device) is the weapon of terrorists, on the other hand, the voter ID(identity) is the weapon and power of democracy," he said.

"I am confident that the power of voter ID is much more than the IED and we should understand the importance of the voter ID card and come out to vote in large numbers," he said.

Modi said he feels fortunate to participate in "the great festival of democracy" in his home state Gujarat.

"The third phase of polling is taking place today in the country. I am fortunate that I also got the proud moment to fulfil my duty by voting in my home state Gujarat and to have an active participation in this great festival of democracy," he said.

"By voting, I feel the same sense of purity that one gets after taking bath at the Kumbh mela," he told reporters.

Urging people to vote with full enthusiasm, he said, "The intelligence of Indian voters to understand whom to vote and whom not to vote is a matter of case study."