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Monday, May 31, 2010 (11:24:25) |
| Tags : Passport, Voting, Voter's ID, India |
Can I vote with my passport? Indians question |
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| New Delhi: Government of India may have clearly stated their intention to grant voting rights to Indian passport holders working and living outside India. Only a month back, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister had asserted that government is willing to confer voting rights to the ones who have Indian passports and are living abroad for more than one or two years.
When it comes to the Indian citizens, Voter's Identity Card is the only thing that qualifies as an identification proof during the time of voting. The common question that has cropped up is, whether a citizen of India can vote with his/her passport?
This question surfaced in Twitter, a popular social networking site, where a web developer Arjun Ghosh (@arjunghosh) raised this question to the people in his network. According to Arjun Ghosh, Indian citizens should be allowed to exercise their right anywhere in India, irrespective of their current location.
In an attempt to delve deep into the issue, HeadlinesIndia went on to find the general consensus regarding this issue. Sanjib Chakravorty (@isanzc), an entrepreneur and a business consultant, is of the opinion that accepting Passport as an ID proof while voting would lead to mass confusion. On the other hand, Aniruddha Chatterjee, (@DaMoViEmAnIaC), Systems Engineer at TCS, affirms that "passport is the quintessential ID" and "should be valid for everything". Shubhankar Mazumdar (@ShubhankarM), another participant in the discussion cited a real life example as he recollected that no id was required to cast vote in Chhapra, a place where he lived for some time.
Abhijit Dasgupta (@abhijitdg), Deputy Editor (National), India Today magazine, stated that address is vital for voting. He further asserted that "Voting rights are restricted to your residing area." Emphasizing the need for having a voter ID, he went on to add that our voting area is specific to our residence and "passport is not address specific."
If on the one hand doubt emanated regarding the feasibility of passport as an identification proof while voting, on the flip side some voice came up in favour of a change in rule. According to Kiran Manral (@kiranmanral), ex-journalist, advertising professional and the founder of India Helps, one should be allowed to vote with any official identification, which includes Passport and Driving License. Vipul Kocher (@vipulkocher), an entrepreneur and a software tester, does not see any harm in the flexibility of using passport and driving license for voting.
Government of India's ambitious Unique Identity Card (UIC) projects is expected to make the entire system of proving one's identity a simpler affair. UIDs, which will have generic information including father's name, mother's name, present address, permanent address, date of birth, photograph, and others will be used for multiple purpose. UIDs are likely to be used while opening a bank account, voting in elections and many others.
It has also come to pass that the advent of the UID in 2011 will reduce the need to carry other identification proofs like, PAN and EC photo-identity card. |
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