Enrolling enclave-dwellers inside India in voter list no problem: Indian envoy

FE Team | Published: July 09, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Enrolling the inhabitants of Bangladeshi enclaves inside India in voter list wouldn't be a problem, but a formal proposal is required, said the Indian envoy after a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunday, reports UNB.
"A formal proposal is required for it, which we haven't got yet," High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarti told reporters after the discussion with CEC ATM Shamsul Huda.
The issue came up at the foreign secretary-level meeting recently, and they would be happy to work it out. "To work out on it a mutual satisfactory arrangement is necessary," said the High Commissioner.
Detail of the Sripur pilot project on voter list was discussed during the hour-long meeting, he informed the press.
Asked if enrolling the frontiersmen could be a problem, Pinak Ranjan replied it shouldn't be a problem. "I don't think that enrolling the voters of such small lands will be a problem."
Replying to a query if the residents of the enclaves could be voters as the 'Land Boundary Agreement' is under process, he said it wouldn' t be any problem.
"Being voter is an academic matterâ€¦ The residents will be asked
whether they want to be Bangladeshi or Indian citizen when the lands
will be handed over," the Indian diplomat told the reporters.
As per the treaty struck after the independence of Bangladesh, Dhaka has done its part but New Delhi is yet to hand over the enclaves.