New Delhi: The opposition is continuously raising questions on the autonomy of the Election Commission. Now, former president Pranab Mukherjee has described the election body as a truly unique body that has supervised "free and fair" elections for the past seven decades.

Mukherjee says in the foreword to "The Great March of Democracy", edited by the 17th Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi, that democracy is not a gift to India, but a sacred trust.  Former President said that the construct of Indian nationalism is constitutional patriotism, highlighting that of several factors that complete it, one is the ability to self-correct and learn from others.

Mukherjee said  that when independent India made universal adult suffrage the basis of elections, not all were convinced of its implementation. He said, "However, the successful manner in which the very first elections were conducted put these speculations to rest. Since then, over the years, the EC has been conducting elections successfully and improving on deficiencies to increasing participation in elections/  

Mukherjee, who was recently awarded India's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna   also expresses his worry on the abuse of money and muscle power to influence voters during the election.