Jaspal Singh from Chandigarh is a Right to Information crusader because of whom one lakh citizens of the city could vote again.
Jaspal Singh, who is 45 years old, was a relatively unknown journalist in Chandigarh.
An RTI crusader in his free time, he helped friends and neighbours solve problems they faced in government offices.
Then in October 2008, he discovered his name was not on the electoral rolls. He filed an RTI application demanding an explanation.
The reply was startling. Names of one lakh voters, including his, had been mistakenly deleted by the agency to which electoral roll processing had been outsourced.
"Those who deleted my name, my wife's name, and names of other voters in Chandigarh without any reason were penalised Rs 1 lakh. We got our names back on the voter list," said Jaspal.
Because of Jaspal Singh, one lakh citizens of Chandigarh could vote. He became a mini celebrity.
Now he has been nominated for an RTI Award that goes to citizen crusaders who have used the Right to information Act to make a difference, all along encouraging others to do the same.
"Every citizen of the country should become aware and they should know and exercise their rights. They should fight for their rights," he said.
