NEW DELHI, Mar 25:
JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Friday objected to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s reply in Lok Sabha to a question on voting rights of prisoners, saying he should be mindful of facts and sensitivity of questions while answering them.
This came after the minister, while replying to a question by LJSP member Chandan Singh, said every elector has the right to vote in elections in the country and those in prisons are also encouraged to vote but voting cannot be made compulsory for the electors.
“Minister said that anyone, either in jail or out of jail, has right to vote. In my understanding it is beyond facts,” Rajiv Singh, who is also the JD(U) president, said while objecting to the minister’s reply during the Question Hour
When a person is sent to judicial custody, his fundamental rights are seized and voting is a fundamental right, he said.
“So I want to request the minister that a sensitive answer should be given for sensitive questions,” Rajiv Singh said.
Responding to the JD(U) member’s statement, Rijiju said all citizens are equal for the government and he cannot say, as the law minister, that undertrials do not have voting right.
“When a matter is subjudiced, we cannot comment,” the minister said, adding that people contest elections from behind bars and also win. “What would you say on that?” Rijiju asked the JD(U) leader. (PTI)
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