Bill to provide voting rights to NRIs

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) A bill to provide voting rights to
Indians living abroad was introduced in Rajya Sabha Saturday,
with the government saying it would enable Non-Resident
Indians (NRIs) to participate in their home country's
democratic process, which was their "legitimate" wish.
Moving the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill 2010,
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily explained the details regarding
the manner of enrolment of NRIs, the mode of voting and
conditionalities for contesting elections.
He earlier withdrew the 2006 draft of the same proposed
legislation saying he was doing so as it did not have details
regarding modalities on conferring voting rights to NRIs.
"The fresh bill is more comprehensive," Moily said.
Pointing out that NRIs have been persistently demanding
conferring of voting rights, he said though the issue had been
receiving attention of the government for quite some time, the
demand could not be met because of practical difficulties in
enrolling them in the electoral rolls and allowing them to
cast votes from outside India.
He said the right to vote, as demanded by these citizens
of India living abroad, is a legitimate one and conferring
such rights will enable them to participate in the democratic
process.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice
examined the 2006 bill and recommended bringing a
comprehensive one on the subject containing details regarding
the manner of their enrolment, mode of voting and
conditionalities for contesting elections.
"In pursuance of the committee's recommendations, it has
been decided to withdraw the 2006 bill and introduce a fresh
one in the current session of Parliament," Moily said. PTI