TRIVANDRUM, 13 July — In an unprecedented show of unanimity, the Kerala Assembly yesterday passed a non-official resolution seeking voting rights for non-resident Indians.
The assembly urged the central government to take action on this.
K.N.A. Khader of the Indian Union Muslim League, who moved the resolution, said it was unfair to deny the fundamental right of franchise to an individual just because he is a non-resident.
“What wrong did these people do to be denied the right to vote? They provide large amounts of foreign exchange by way of remittances. If the government had been able to provide them with jobs, many would not have gone abroad,” Khader said.
The minister in charge of non-resident Keralites’ affairs, P. Sankaran, said that this issue has already been raised by the state’s Chief Minister A.K. Antony with the central government several times. “We can again bring the resolution to the attention of the central government”, he said.
Congress party legislator C.P. Muhammad said there are several ways in which the non-resident Keralites could be asked to vote. “It could be through proxy, a secret ballot or even casting the vote in the Indian embassies abroad,” he said.
There are a large number of expatriates in my constituency and this has been one of their long standing demands”, said Muhammad. Senior Communist party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader K. Balakrishnan was of the opinion that for the resolution to become a reality, the constitution of India has to be amended.
Khader pointed out that, a recent legislation in Britain has made it possible for all British expatriates to vote even if they stay outside Britain for two decades. “It is sad that many Keralite expatriates who are politically so conscious cannot exercise their franchise, the sooner it is relaxed the better it is”, said Khader.
There are more than 10 million non-residents Indians. Out of these, two million are in the United Arab Emirates, 2.2 million in Britain, Australia and Canada, and 1.6 million in the United States.
Kerala alone accounts for close to 1.5 million of the total non-resident Indian population.
