NRI
voting bill will be passed soon in coming session
of parliament
New Delhi, Sep. 04, 2006
Cap. Darshan Gill, New Delhi
Col. Harparkash Singh Toronto
"The parliamentary standing committee has given
its report over NRI voting bill.
The report is positive. The bill is expected to be
passed without major changes," Overseas Indian
Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said.
Durung January, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh already promise to pass
in Parliment.
Around 25 million overseas Indians are spread all
over the across 110 countries in the world, the minister
said. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA)
would function as a friend and guide to the overseas
Indian community. The ministry was formed by the UPA
Government to give mainstream attention to the overseas
Indians. The fact that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan
Singh himself is closely monitoring the progress being
made by the ministry is noteworthy, Mr. Ravi said.
This will entail the amendment of Section 20 of the
Representation of the People Act,1950, which gives
a meaning of “ordinarily resident”. The
section describes an ‘‘ordinarily resident’’
as someone who resides in that constituency. This
will now be changed to “a person who has left
the country and gone to any part of the world for
the purposes of job, education or anything else and
will also be considered a voter for all practical
purposes.”
This is good news for NRIs who at every Parvasi Bharatiya
Divas have been asking that while they are allowed
to invest in India:
NRIs in the US and Canada said, voting rights would
bring them closer to their motherland and help them
get directly involved in its decision-making process.
NRIs’ views and choices in the political process
will benefit the country.’’ If this bill
go through, every NRIs feels more rights and more
security in India for their investment.
Rajinder Malhotra from Toronto said, "This
will be a good for all Indian people and bad for corrupted
officials and politicians who misuse the system to
get their votes on cast system and religion and play
a unethical drama such as 1984 riots, Babri Masjad
and Gujrat roits. Things are moving well but it needs
more faster. God bless Manmohan Singh
