NRIs’ voting method yet to be decided: Vayalar Ravi
By IANSTuesday, December 21, 2010
NEW DELHI - Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Tuesday said the election commission and external affairs ministry are evolving a method to include NRIs in the country’s electoral rolls.
“Two rounds of discussions have been held with the election commission and external affairs ministry. Both agreed to enrol the NRIs but how to enrol them is the issue,” Ravi told reporters here.
He will meet External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Wednesday on the issue.
The Indian embassies and high commission will be the most important institutions in the enrolment and verification of NRI voters and the agencies are working out how they should go about the task.
“We are sorting it out. This should happen soon. The election commission has to decide the modus operandi,” he added.
In August, parliament passed the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010 giving voting rights to NRIs.
The bill provides that every Indian citizen - who has not acquired the citizenship of any other country and is not in India due to conditions like employment and education - shall be entitled to have his name registered in the electoral rolls of the constituency in which his place of residence is mentioned in his passport.
