On Monday (December 20), the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha, amidst chaos by the Opposition.
The bill was tabled by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju. The Bill was passed through a voice vote in the Lower House of the Parliament, with Dr Kirit Premjibhai Solanki as the Speaker-in-charge.
‘The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021’ passed in Lok Sabha.
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2021
The Bill seeks to allow electoral registration officers to seek the Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters “for the purpose of establishing the identity”.
House adjourned till tomorrow, 21st Dec. pic.twitter.com/QjGDjGhl4j
In a tweet, Prasar Bharti News Services informed, “The bill enables the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem to curb the menace of multiple enrollments of the same person in different places.”
Lok Sabha passes The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The bill enables the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem to curb the menace of multiple enrollment of the same person in different places. pic.twitter.com/1QQmXg3iAt
— Prasar Bharati News Services पी.बी.एन.एस. (@PBNS_India) December 20, 2021
Congress Party opposes Bill in Lok Sabha
The crucial Bill was opposed by the Congress party in the Lok Sabha. While speaking in the House, Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor said, “Aadhaar only meant to be proof of residence, it’s not proof of citizenship. If you’re in a position asking Aadhaar for voters, all you’re getting is a document that reflects residence, not citizenship. You’re potentially giving the vote to non-citizens.”
This Bill should be sent to Standing Committee. This has a lot of legal drawbacks. It is against the Supreme Court verdict and one which violates our privacy. This might strip off lakhs of people of their electoral rights: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/z8lNsAO3ND
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2021
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had claimed, “This Bill should be sent to Standing Committee. This has a lot of legal drawbacks. It is against the Supreme Court verdict and one which violates our privacy. This might strip off lakhs of people of their electoral rights.”
TMC’s Mahua Moitra called the bill “Illegal, and a blatant violation of SC order.”
Provisions of the Election (Amendment) Bill
The Bill states, “The electoral registration officer may for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person require that such person may furnish the Aadhaar number given by the Unique Identification Authority of India as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.”
It further adds, “Provided that the electoral registration officer may also require the Aadhaar number from persons already included in the electoral roll for the purposes of authentication of entries in the electoral roll and to identify registration of the name of the same person in the electoral roll of more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency.”
However, the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 makes it clear that no application for name inclusion in the electoral rolls shall be denied for not being able to furnish Aadhar number due to reasonable conditions.
