Amendment bill to link Aadhaar with voting card passed in Lok Sabha

Ground Report | New Delhi: Amendment bill to link Aadhaar; Lok Sabha has passed the Election Reforms Amendment Bill 2021. Under this bill, there is a proposal to link Aadhaar with voter card. After the passage of this bill, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Tuesday. As soon as the government introduced this bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, opposition parties strongly opposed it.

Amendment bill to link Aadhaar

The bill proposes that voter registration officers may ask for Aadhaar numbers from people trying to register as voters to establish their identity.

The Bill will allow the authorities to ask for Aadhaar numbers from persons already included in the electoral rolls for the purpose of authentication of entries in the electoral rolls and to identify the registration of the name of the same person. in one constituency or more than once in the same constituency," the Bar and Bench pointed out.

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Speaking on the bill, Rijiju said, "Even after 18 years, the system says they have to wait a full year to exercise their franchise if they could not register on January 1 (the year of revision of electoral rolls). This bill will allow 4 qualifying dates in a year to register as voters."

Further, the Bill proposes to replace the word "wife" with "spouse" to make the Act (Representation of the People Act 1951) gender-neutral. Rijiju remarked that this would also expand the limits of election premises acquisition.

What the Opposition Says

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that Aadhaar is a proof of residence, not of citizenship. While Asaduddin Owaisi called it a violation of privacy. Congress MP Manish Tewari said that voting is a statutory right and linking Aadhaar with voter ID is wrong.

Opposing the bill, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy said that the Aadhar card is issued by the government to all citizens. The central government is trying to interfere in the electoral process. But Union Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed the objections of the opposition and said that the government is trying to stop the bogus voting and the opposition should support the government on this issue.

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Earlier, All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen i.e. AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi has decided to oppose the Election Law Amendment Bill. Under this law, it is proposed to link Aadhaar with Voter ID. Owaisi has sent a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretariat in this regard.

Owaisi has said in his notice that the proposal to link Aadhaar with Voter ID is a violation of the fundamental right to privacy. The cabinet of the Narendra Modi government has approved the Election Law Amendment Bill 2021 and it has also been introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Under this bill, there is a proposal to change the People's Representation Act 1950 and the People's Representative Act 1951. The government says that there is a proposal to link Aadhaar with voter ID to prevent changes in the voter list and fake voting. At present it is not mandatory for everyone.

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