NEW DELHI, October 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
As per the honourable Supreme Court of India's direction, the committee formed in Election Commission of India for considering feasibility of postal ballot, online voting or proxy voting has submitted its report putting forth the options for NRIs right to vote. That a copy of the report (more than 100 pages) has been served on the Counsel for the Petitioners Mrs. Urmila Sirur in W.P. (C) No. 80 of 2013 Nagender Chindam vs. Union Of India & Election Commission of India.
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(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141021/10108984-C )
Petitions for the same cause, the W.P.(C) 1010 of 2013 Naresh Kumar Hanchate & Ors, the W.P.(C) No. 265 of 2014 Shamsheer V.P vs. UOI & ANR were tagged with the lead case above i.e. W.P (C) 80 of 2013, which was filed in Jan 2013.
Next Date of listing is: 07/11/2014, as per the current status of schedule.
Refer. http://courtnic.nic.in/supremecourt/temp/wc%2080rpt.txt
http://courtnic.nic.in/courtnicsc.asp
"We are delighted to read the report of the committee which studied various options and submitted the report with proposals. Now, we look forward to honourable Supreme Court's decision and directions in this matter," said Pravasi Bharat, a campaign group relentlessly fighting for the cause of NRIs' absentee ballot by all democratic means for the past several years.
After reading the EC committee's report, the petitioner and the founder of this campaign group Mr. Nagender Chindam said: "Ours is a genuinely democratic struggle for the basic right of feasible voting. We have been fighting for the cause for more than 2 years. We feel that our long lasting efforts are giving some fruitful results and we are very near to our goal of feasible voting options for Indian citizens abroad."
"It is matter for millions; I have faith in the importance of our cause and the purity of our democratic and legitimate struggle. Thanks to the honourable Chief Justice's Court for considering our writ petition in the first place and issuing notices to corresponding authorities in Feb, 2013. Now, thanks to the committee which submitted its report. We are looking forward to hear direction and order from honourable Supreme Court." he added.
Campaign History:
1. Demonstration: On 31st August, 2012 many NRIs in spite of busy work schedules gathered near the Indian High Commission Office, London for a peaceful demonstration and submitted the petition addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Election Commission of India through the High Commission Office.
References (s): http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3845155.ece
2. London March: On 21st October, 2012, NRIs marched from the Gandhi Statue, Tavistock Square to the Nehru Statue, Aldwych, London and submitted the follow-up petition to the Prime Minister of India, Election Commission of India through the High Commission Office in London.
Reference (s): http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/nris-invoke-gandhis-name-to-demand-voting-right/article4019533.ece#comments
3. Public Interest Litigation: W.P Civil (80) of 2013 in January, 2013.
In the month of Feb, 2013 - Three bench court presided by the Honourable Chief Justice of India issued a notice to the government and Election Commission on the petition filed by members of Pravasi Bharat.
Reference (s): http://www.deccanherald.com/content/314238/sc-notice-centre-ec-online.html
4. Release of White Paper on NRI Absentee Ballot: In December, 2013 we have released our white paper authored by Mr. Nagender Chindam and Dr. Ameet Mukerjee, which was distributed to all major political party offices and party leaders.
Link to White Paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-RAWK5rBb6KMENFcW1uYWNQMDA/edit
5. Hunger Strike: With the aim of not missing the votes of millions in 2014 general elections and to iterate how seriously we are concerned about our motherland and have our say in who governs us, Mr. Chindam began a three-day hunger strike from 24th Jan, 2014 and ended it on the auspicious day of India's Republic Day 26th Jan, 2014. Mr. Chindam's speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpOiLjJvNFA
Reference (s):
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01xg6sp
Rediff: http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/ls-elections-india-can-send-rocket-to-mars-but-not-allow-absentee-voting-for-nris/20140321.htm
IBN: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nri-on-hunger-strike-in-london-over-right-to-vote/447615-2.html
Link for photos stream of various events of our campaign:
About Pravasi Bharat
Pravasi Bharat was founded in August, 2012 with the main motto of achieving an absentee ballot for Indian citizens living abroad. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/indiaatlse/2012/12/28/long-distance-democracy/. We followed the Gandhian style of peaceful struggle.
Website: http://www.pravasbharat.org
Twitter: @PravasiBharat
Facebook: PravasiBharat
Primary Media Contact : Srujan Chada, [email protected], +447809825055, Press Officer
Secondary Media Contact: Nagender Chindam, [email protected], +447710612055, Chairman
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