New Delhi:
The Indian community in the UK on Friday hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's indication that Indian passport holders living abroad may get voting rights by the time of next Lok Sabha elections take place in 2014.
Inaugurating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in New Delhi today, Singh indicated that voting rights could be extended to Indian passport holders but not to those having Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards.
"We are happy with the Prime Minister's announcement," Amit Kapadia, Executive Director of HSMP Forum, campaigning for the rights of Indian immigrants in the UK, said.
"We feel glad that we can retain our right to voice our opinion in the country's political matters. However we would hope that the Indian government would go one step further and grant dual citizenship to Indian immigrants settled abroad," he said.
Kapadia said that dual citizenship meant a lot to Indian immigrants who had a strong sense of belonging with their country despite having settled abroad and would add to the wealth of benefits that NRIs bring to India.
"Voting rights are a positive step towards bringing us back into the fold but we want dual citizenship which could well be the umbilical cord that bonds us with our motherland.
There can be no alternative for dual citizenship", he said. It will strengthen business ties and enrich knowledge exchange and also encourage NRIs to play an active role in the country's affairs and development, he said.