By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,
Kochi: Kerala will press the Central Government for the voting rights of the diaspora from the state, said KM Thomas Isaac, state Finance Minister, in the Assembly on Friday. He was responding to a question by Mr. Abdur Rabb, leader of the Muslim League and MLA of Manjeri in Malappuram district.
The state Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution on the matter earlier and presented it before the central government. Mr. Isaac said that the centre had not yet taken up the matter and that the state would press the centre on the issue.
Kerala has nearly two million people working abroad, of which 90 per cent work in the Middle East. The strong diaspora has contributed much to the development of the state economy as well as maintaining a high standard of life. The successive governments in the state have always tried to influence the rich NRIs to invest in the state.
The development of Malabar, the six districts in northern Kerala which have a considerable Muslim population, to the present level owes highly to the contributions of the NRIs. Many of the educational institutions, business ventures etc of Malabar have received very high capital investment from the NRIs.
Those families which became rich by Gulf money brought several job opportunities back home in Kerala. The purchasing power of the people increased and it helped the economy in no less terms. The people of Malabar who were backward in education began to give importance to it once they went outside and saw the world.
Education combined with exposure to the outside world also helped the community get rid of many evil practices and superstitions. Some NRIs grew well enough to have a considerable role in the power-politics in the state. In short, the vast NRI population brought a revolution in Kerala, especially Malabar, in every field.
In spite of all this, the NRIs have been subject to much exploitation and devoid of many rights. More than anything else, what they wanted was a say in choosing the government of the country. Several countries in the world allow their diaspora to vote in the elections by providing special facilities in the respective embassies. To get this right, the Indian diaspora all over the world have been struggling, but to no avail. Kerala took special interest in the issue since a large number of Keralites were abroad and they were the backbone of the state’s economy.
The last Assembly of the state passed a unanimous resolution to the effect of enabling the diaspora to vote. The resolution was submitted to the central government but the centre has not yet taken any measure on it. However, the state has decided to put pressure on the centre for the right of its citizens.