Moily wants to know if PM has PIO voters too in mind

NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assuring voting rights to Indians abroad, the law ministry is now seeking his opinion on whether people of Indian origin who do not hold Indian passports could be added to the list. This would reopen the thorny question of dual citizenship.

While voting rights for non-resident Indian passport holders has already got the law ministry’s nod, it is yet to take a decision on whether other Indians living abroad should be given the right to vote for elections in India.

“A person who is given the right to vote is also given the right to contest elections. There is no problem as far as Indian passport holders are concerned. But we have to see whether other categories of Indians abroad can be given the right to vote,” law minister Veerappa Moily told ET on Monday.

Mr Moily said the ministry wanted to know the prime minister’s views on the entire matter. “We want to know what he had in mind when he told the Indian diaspora that Indians abroad will be able to cast their votes in the 2014 elections.... We will also seek his views about dual citizenship,” the law minister said.

As far as voting rights for NRIs holding Indian passports are concerned, the draft bill, amending the Representation of the People Act to include those living overseas, was ready and could be introduced in the next session of Parliament. However, the bill will be put up before the Union Cabinet only after consultations with the prime minister.

The prime minister had told the Indian diaspora last week that he recognised the ‘legitimate desire’ of Indians living abroad to exercise their franchise and to have a say in who governs India. He also expressed the hope that they will get a chance to vote by the 2014 general elections.

Voting rights and dual citizenship have been a long-standing demand of NRIs, but despite frequent promises it is yet to see the light of day. Under the UPA-I regime, the Union Cabinet had cleared the draft Bill in 2006. It was then introduced in the Rajya Sabha, which referred it to a parliamentary standing committee. After the parliamentary panel gave its report, it was sent to the law ministry.

The proposal, seeking to involve NRIs in the country’s affairs, allows them to get their names registered in the electoral roll of the concerned constituency and cast their vote for Lok Sabha and assembly elections. At present, a name is struck off the voters’ list if the person is outside the country for more than six months. There are around 50 lakh NRIs, with Kerala alone having over 21 lakh NRIs.