THE Government of India has conferred voting rights on Non-resident Indians (NRIs). It has recently amended the Representation of People Act-1950 and directed overseas Indian citizens to register themselves in the electoral roll to enable them to vote in May this year in the states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and UT of Pondicherry. Expatriates living in Saudi Arabia appreciate the decision taken by the Indian Government to allow NRIs to cast their ballots. However, they consider it a major hurdle to be present in their constituency on the polling day as it is difficult to travel all the way to India just to cast a vote. “All foreign offices (Embassy, Consulate General's office, High Commission etc) in the respective country should be made polling stations,” advises South Kolkata's Tajuddin Ahmed, Head of Operations in Saudi Arabia for Godrej, India. “The decision will definitely make an impact as so many Indians live outside of India. There should be proper accounting through an unbiased process, then the allocating of a kind of identity card – issued by the foreign office – allowing these authorized personnel to organize voting. Also, there should be detailed description of the candidates and political parties for a particular constituency,” said Ahmed. Riyadh-based materials engineer Raju Philip, who belongs to the Changanachery assembly constituency in the state of Kerala, also thinks that going to India to be present in the constituencies to vote is not at all practical “as the majority of NRIs are in the labor category”. “The government should arrange voting either through Embassies or online. In many of the constituencies, the winner is decided by a few votes so our votes will surely decide the fate of the candidates. This will persuade candidates to draw up a campaign favoring us, the NRIs,” he explained. Calling it “impossible to expect NRIs from the Gulf to travel to India to vote”, Mohammed Salahuddin Ahmed Quraishi, the regional head of Budget Rent a Car in Saudi Arabia – someone who hails from Chennai – said that if Gulf NRIs are allowed to vote at their place of domicile they will be a force to reckon and their grievances could be addressed in a better manner. “There have to be candidates from the Gulf region to represent those NRIs who will representing the NRI base,” said Quraishi. He thinks a representative – who will be selected from a group of contenders – will understand the needs and requirements of all NRIs working abroad. Since there is an enormous potential for the growth of foreign exchange “if properly developed with due consideration and importance”, Quraishi thinks that organizing and managing this source of income could really benefit India in a very tangible manner. “In reality, the challenges faced by all NRIs from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, are almost identical and should be represented collectively. There has to be a central minister to look into the grievances of these NRIs since it's a very important foreign exchange stream for India.” Philip does appreciate the decision to allow NRIs to cast their ballots, “even though it is too late”. He seconds Quraishi's view: “NRIs are contributing much to the economy of our nation by contributing billions in foreign exchange as well as helping solve the unemployment problem. Until now they were depriving us of the right to decide who will rule the country. This opportunity really gives us a great weapon in hand,” he said. Dr. Asar Khan, President of Indian Overseas Congress (socio-cultural organization) in Saudi Arabia said that it is a commendable decision on part of the Indian Government and a great step in the right direction, allowing another 11 million people to help choose the worthiest leaders for India. “However, it remains to be seen how the process is implemented – maybe allowing voting online or via post, as it is unlikely that the vast majority of NRIs will be able to travel to India only for voting during election time,” Dr. Khan said to Saudi Gazette. He added that the initiative will help NRIs build a greater connection with their home country by keeping tabs on developments in India. “It is a chance for NRIs to contribute to their country also. At some point though, the Indian Government might consider setting up seats for NRI representatives in Parliament like they have for Anglo-Indians,” he said. – Saudi Gazette The following are guidelines and conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant: n The applicant should be a citizen of India. n The applicant should not have acquired citizenship of a foreign country. n The applicant should have completed 18 years of age as of Jan 1, 2011. n The application form (6-A) should be submitted directly to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the constituency within which the place of ordinary residence of the applicant is given in the passport. The application form can be collected from the Passport Section of the Indian Consulate or downloaded from the Consulate's website: www.cgijeddah.com or from the Election Commission's web site: http://eci.nic.in. n The applicant has to be present personally along with his/her original passport at the polling station (in India) to cast his/her vote on Election Day. The following documents should be attached with the application form: n Paste one recent passport-size color photo with white background. n Attested copy of the passport and visa (copies of the Passport and visa should be attested by the Passport Section of the Consulate General of India, Jeddah). For further queries, Mr. Mohammad Tariq, Community Welfare Section, CGI, Jeddah may be contacted at 02-6520112/6520131. For Riyadh, contact at 01-4884144/4884691/4884692.
