VP election: Rashid to vote in House, Amritpal via postal ballot

JAiled Lok Sabha MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh assumed name engine driver Rashid testament be escorted from new delhi’s Tihar slammer to Parliament under tight security to cast his vote for the vice presidential election, leaders from his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) said on Monday. Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged at the Central jail in Dibrugarh, Assam under the National Security Act (NSA), will be voting via postal ballot.The development comes days after a Delhi court, on September 6, allowed Rashid to vote in the upcoming election. According to a city court’s order, prison officials have been directed to release Rashid on custody parole for voting on September 9. The order directed prison officials to contact the House’s Secretary General to identify a suitable time when the jailed MP has to reach Parliament to cast his vote.It also said that the MP will be handed over to the marshal at the gates of Parliament, and later brought back to the prison complex without any delay. While he is allowed to interact with other lawmakers and staff within the Parliament complex, he has been directed not to speak to the press, give interviews or make phone calls.The court directed Tihar jail officials to not charge Rashid conveyance fee for the trip until the matter is decided by the Delhi high court. The high court, on August 18, reserved its order on Rashid’s plea for modification of the order to deposit around ₹4 lakh (conveyance fee charged by prison authorities) per trip to Parliament to attend the monsoon session.His son Abrar confirmed that the Baramulla MP would be going to Parliament from jail for voting. “My father will participate in the election process and go to the parliament under tight security. We hope the high court will give us a favourable and dismiss the exorbitant fee that the prison authorities have been charging him,” he said.Rashid, an Independent MP and president of the AIP, has been in jail since August 9, 2018, after being arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case. The agency, in the past, has objected to Rashid’s plea for bail as he is facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Meanwhile Amritpal Singh, a pro-separatist leader and chief of Waris De Punjab, will be voting via postal ballot. Waris De Punjab spokesperson and Amritpal’s counsel, advocate Imaan Singh Khara, said that the office of Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) has informed that the Election Commission of India issued directions regarding the voting facility for the jailed Punjab MP.He said that officials have directed the Assam chief secretary to ensure that the postal ballot, given to him on time, is received by the returning officer before the counting of the vote at around 6pm on September 9. “The Commission had instructed the MHA and chief secretary Assam to ensure sealed cover containing the postal ballot through a special messenger well before 6pm on September 9. My client will be using his right to vote from prison using ballot paper,” Khara said.Separately, Rajampet YSRCP MP PV Midhun Reddy recently got a five-day interim bail to be able to cast his vote in the vice-presidential poll. Reddy got interim bail from September 6 to September 11. Andhra Pradesh Police arrested Reddy on July 19 in an alleged ₹3,200-crore excise irregularities case that happened during the erstwhile YSRCP regime.