Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 20: A bill linking Aadhar number with the voters’ identity card and carrying out some other electoral reforms was adopted by the Lok Sabha amidst continuous opposition din on Monday. The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed even as most of the opposition parties opposed the move and demanded the government to take it back or refer it to a select committee of the House for further deliberations.
The government, however, maintained that the opposition objections against the bill were “unfounded” and based on wrong interpretations of the Supreme Court’s judgement in the past and adopted the bill by a voice vote as several opposition members standing in the well of the House, were sloganeering. The Bill allows electoral registration officers to ask for Aadhaar numbers of applicants wanting to register as voters to establish the identity of the applicant. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, clarified that linking of Aadhar to Electoral Photo Identity Card is voluntary.
It also seeks to allow the officers to ask for the number from “persons already included in the electoral roll for the purposes of authentication of entries in electoral roll, and to identify registration of name of the same person in the electoral roll of more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency”.
At the time of the introduction of the Bill, the opposition members spoke against the measure. Opposing the introduction of the bill, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “I do oppose the introduction of the Bill under The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and simultaneously demanding that the legislative document should be referred to the concerned standing committee for further scrutiny given the fact that this is an infringement on the fundamental right of privacy as enunciated by the Supreme Court. It will lead to mass disenfranchisement. That’s why we are demanding that this Bill should be referred to the standing committee,” he said.
Another Congress member Manish Tewari said that the Bill is “beyond” the legislative “competence” of the government. This will cause great harm to the democracy of India, he said. Tewari said, “The Aadhar Act does not allow for the linking of Aadhaar with the electoral roll. The Aadhar Act is very explicit. It is an act which is for the targeted delivery of financial and other subsidy benefits and services.”
“Voting is a legal right… Therefore, the Aadhaar act is beyond the legislative competence of this Bill. Therefore, we oppose the introduction of this Bill,” Tewari said.
AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also opposed the introduction of Bill. “This Bill is outside the legislative competence of this House and violates the limits on legislation set by the Supreme Court in Puttaswamy [case]. The linking of voter ID with Aadhaar violates the fundamental right of privacy defined in Puttaswamy [case],” Owaisi said, demanding division on the leave to introduce the Bill in the House. TMC member Sougata Roy also opposed the introduction of the Bill and said it was against the Supreme Court judgment in the Puttaswamy case. “Besides, the Central Government is interfering with the Election Commission. The Prime Minister’s secretary wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner,” Roy said in an indirect reference to the prime minister’s private secretary recently “summoning” the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners for a “discussion” on electoral reforms.
BSP member Ritesh Pandey also opposed the introduction of the Bill. This Bill violates the rights of people to vote, Pandey said.
RSP member NK Premachandran said linking electoral rolls with Aadhaar is definitely an infringement on the right to privacy and violates Article 21. Congress member Shashi Tharoor said, “Aadhaar was only meant to be a proof of residence. It is not proof of citizenship. In our country, only citizens are allowed to vote.”
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who piloted the Bill, said the opposition members’ arguments against introduction of the Bill are unfounded and they have misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s judgment. “Neither they have understood the objective of the Bill correctly, nor their argument is right,” Rijiju said, introducing the Bill rejecting the opposition criticism.
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, it provides for amendment of section 23 of the RP Act, 1950, enabling for the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem to curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places. The government, however, made it clear that the linking of Aadhar number with the voters’ Id would be voluntary.
It also seeks to amend clause (b) of section 14 of the RP Act, 1950 specifying the 1st day of January, 1st day of April, 1st day of July and 1st day of October in a calendar year as qualifying dates in relation to the preparation or revision of electoral rolls.