(Dorab R Sopariwala is Editorial Adviser at NDTV and writes on political and economic issues.)God bless the Supreme Court.
Thanks to its intervention, the government has accepted the Election Commission's recommendations that NRIs, who are also Indian citizens, be permitted to vote either through an e-ballot system or through proxy.
This, of course, is great news for our
videshi brethren. And the even better news is that while it will benefit the investment banker in New York and the techie of the Silicon Valley, it will also benefit the school teacher in Dubai, and the building worker in Jeddah.
But would the Supreme Court, which claims to champion the not-so-fortunate, give some thought to us
swadeshi lot?
Currently, only government servants on election duty are given the opportunity to vote through a postal ballot. Why cannot the facility extended by the EC to the
videshis also be provided to the
swadeshis? Is it because we don't have rich lawyers to fight our cases?
Let me give an example of the severe inconvenience the current system causes to resident Indian voters - most of them poor. Our big cities are full of migrant labour. For instance, it is estimated that around 5 lakh Oriyas live in my city of birth, Surat. Most of them work as casual labour. I am sure they would like to vote, but imagine their dilemma.
Firstly, they probably have to lose their wages for 10-12 days. Secondly, as their Lordships are hopefully aware, casual labourers do not get LTA (Leave Travel Allowance), nor do they have assistants to book their tickets on the internet. If they desire to vote, they have to go to and return from Orissa by train, and getting a train ticket when there is a rush of visitors, as during an election, is no easy matter. Also, how does one fit in 5 lakh (or even 2.5 lakh) travellers over a few days?
There are only three direct trains every day from Surat to Puri - none to Cuttack. The cheapest return rail ticket (including the 'tout surcharge' and the 'baksheesh' to the Ticket Collector or TC) probably costs around Rs. 2,000. It is a distance of 1,902 km and the journey takes more than 35 hours. After getting to Puri, they have to reach their home town or village, which may be another day's journey. In relative terms, their monetary sacrifice is probably greater than that of an investment banker who flies in from New York to vote in Delhi.
Then there are many other people who need to travel on work - salesmen, businessmen, company executives, professionals, social workers, etc. Are they supposed to put their lives and work on hold because there is a month-long election?
I am sure our great Justices know that there are more than 800 million voters in India and probably 10-odd million NRIs who are citizens. While I do not have the figures, the number of inter-state migrant labourers must be huge. The turnout in elections would go up significantly if we
swadeshis were also allowed to vote via proxy or through an e-ballot system.
George Orwell wrote in '
Animal Farm': "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
But we Indians are not animals and their Lordships and the EC are well aware that Article 16 gives us the Fundamental Right to Equality.
In this, the largest democracy in the world, there cannot be two classes of citizens.
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