JOIN USWhat was the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 chaos in Rajya Sabha all about?
Parliament passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, piloted by law minister Kiren Rijiju, on Tuesday with Rajya Sabha approving it through voice vote amid a walkout by the Opposition.
The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on December 20 and moved to Rajya Sabha for discussion on December 21 where the Opposition MPs pointed out the Centre’s haste in passing the bill. The Opposition leaders also questioned the motive behind the Bill.
What does it have to do with Aadhaar and Voter ID linking?
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 allows electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar number of people who wish to register as voters “for the purpose of establishing identity.”
However, it will be done on a volunteer basis. Hence, the proposed law will not reject an application if the Aadhaar number is not linked to the Voter ID.
Why was the Bill opposed?
Even though Rijiju said that the Bill “would not be compulsory but only voluntary”, the Opposition leaders protested claiming that the “voter’s privacy will be compromised”.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pointed that Aadhaar was 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,” he added.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “The Bill is being introduced today, taken up for consideration and passing today. What is the hurry? We have requested that it be referred to the standing committee.”
Along with many other Opposition leaders, Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule questioned the “tearing hurry” in passing the Bill and demanded a detailed discussion on it.
Earlier, Congress, TMC, CPI, CPI-M, DMK and Samajwadi Party opposed the Bill saying it infringes on voters' right to privacy.
What did the Centre say defending the Bill?
Following the turmoil after the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha, the Centre clarified on December 21 that the Bill seeks to link electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem to weed out duplication of voters and weed out fake votes.
Through the proposed law, the names of electors that appear in more than one electoral roll or more than once in the same electoral roll can be removed.
Once the Aadhaar is linked, the electoral roll data system will get a notification when the person is trying to apply for another ID.
Terming the Bill "very good", Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the legislation will help end fake and bogus voting in the country and make the electoral process credible.
Check out the latest videos from DH: