'NRI votes can help unify country'
(MENAFN- Arab News) A postal ballot system for Indian expatriates under consideration by the Indian Parliament can help unify candidates elected in next year's general elections, say Indians living in Saudi Arabia.
The provision is awaiting approval from the Indian Parliament. The Lok Sabha approved voting rights for non-resident Indians (NRI) with the adoption of the Representation of the People Amendment Bill in 2010.
The new law will allow Indians living abroad to register on the country's voter's roll and exercise their franchise even if they are away from India for more than six months because of work, study or otherwise.
According to the Indian Embassy, there are over 2.8 million Indians living in the Kingdom.
Mohammed Quaiser, president of Tanzeem Hum Hindustani, an Indian cultural and social organization in Riyadh, said he was concerned that certain politicians known for their divisive views have started gaining support from voters.
"NRIs living abroad have a peaceful mindset and live in complete harmony. If the postal ballot system, which has been allowed for armed forces personnel and government officials on duty abroad, is allowed for NRIs, it will certainly make an impact on Indian politics," he said.
He said he was dismayed at the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections. He said he was echoing the view of many Indian intellectuals who are against Modi for the top job and who do not want a "Hindutva poster boy" as the next prime minister.
Among Modi's detractors is Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who said Modi should not be India's prime minister because he does not have secular credentials. The prominent economist also criticized Modi's model of governance.
Acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh said that he does not want Modi for the top job and would not vote for him. Ghosh said the rise of Hindu nationalism was "worrying" and "wreaking havoc" across the country. "I was completely appalled by what happened in the Gujarat riots of 2002," he was quoted as saying.
Most Indian expatriates who spoke to Arab News said they did not want Modi as their new prime minister.
They said that many expatriates living abroad are educated and mature enough to rise above divisive politics and seek a dispensation that would promote peaceful coexistence.
They said the BJP is trying to instigate communal riots as it did in Muzaffarnagar and rake up issues like the Ram Temple construction at Ayodhya to woo the electorate in the run up to the parliamentary elections.

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