Seeking electoral reforms, BJP MP Naveen Jindal demands E-voting provision for NRIs

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Lok Sabha MP Naveen Jindal on Wednesday sought electoral reforms in the country and demanded E-voting provisions for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). He added that while there are often talks of ‘Ease of Live’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’, its time now for ‘Ease of Voting’.

Talking about e-voting, the BJP leader said, “My request concerns the rights of our millions of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). These are the people who toil hard abroad and send their hard-earned money to India.”

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‘NRIs remittances are backbone to India’s economy’

“Their remittances are the backbone of our economy. My question is, "When we can conduct digital transactions worth crores of rupees every day with complete security and trust, why can't our NRI brothers' votes be sent to India digitally?,” the Kurukshetra MP further added.

Addressing the Lower House of the Parliament, Jindal observed that the reality today is that NRIs are unable to vote simply since its not possible for them to spend a huge amount of money to travel to India on election day and vote.

India should look to the world: Naveen Jindal

“We should look to the world—countries like Estonia, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Panama, and Ecuador have successfully implemented secure online or remote electronic voting systems for their citizens,” he observed further.

Urging the government to develop 'Absentee Voting Mechanism/E-Voting Method' at the earliest, he added, “the benefits of this technology will not be limited to NRIs. How much relief will it provide to our elderly, disabled people, and migrant workers who have left their cities for livelihood?”

'Our voting turnout is stuck at 64-65%'

“Today, our voting turnout is stuck at 64-65%. If we embrace technology and move beyond the 'Go to the Booth' mentality and move towards 'Secure Remote Voting', I am confident that this figure can reach 90%,” he noted further.