NAPA applauds announcement for Adhar Card facility to Indian Diaspora

US Based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) applauded the announcement of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for giving Aadhaar cards to Non-Resident Indians.NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal who was in Chandigarh today told media that this  Aadhaar card will help the Indian Diaspora during their visit to India and this will be an Indian identity Card for the Indian Diaspora.”This is a very welcome decision of the Union government and is being appreciated by the India diaspora around the globe.said Chahal.While demanding a voting right to OCI card holders Chahal urged the government of India to give due representation to Indian Diaspora in Raj Sabha and all other constitutional boards and commissions,” said Chahal.

Around 22 million Indians live abroad. Of which, 10 million are NRI and the rest are OCI/PIO card holders.  Based on the huge non-resident population and in light of several issues faced by NRIs it became more important than ever, to highlight the issues with the central government of India. Chahal said that for this to happen there should be appropriate representation in the Indian Parliament.  To further the metamorphic ability of Non Resident Indians to vote in Elections, we propose to nominate six officials in Rajya Sabha to represent and highlight issues of Non Resident Indians. Three from North America and the other three from rest of the world. These nominated members to Rajya Sabha and others on Boards and Commissions would ensure all the plights, issues and concerns of Non Resident Indians, from respective foreign states, are highlighted and hopefully resolved. This representation could be accommodated as part of the selective nomination to Rajya Sabha, by the honorable President of India, which might need amendment to Constitution.  This could very well be a watershed moment in the legislative history of a burgeoning economy like India. This is not as daunting as it sounds. This plausible effort with the help of all nonresident Indians could be a resounding success.