The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021
INTRODUCED BY
Mr Kiran Rijiju
Minister of Law and Justice
SYNOPSIS
The bill proposes to link electoral poll data with Aadhaar ecosystem with an aim to eradicate duplicate and fake voters from the electoral rolls.
HIGHLIGHTS
Salient Points ()
The bill proposes to link electoral roll data and voter ID card with Aadhaar ecosystem.
The bill suggests four qualifying dates for updating the voting rolls to include those who have turned 18, i.e. January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.
The bill proposes to bring gender equality by registering ‘wives of service voters’ as spouse.
The proposed linkage between the Aadhaar and election database is voluntary for citizens.
Title
The application would not be rejected if Aadhaar number is not provided by the applicants.
BACKGROUND
- In 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd) Vs Union of India unanimously held that Indians have a constitutionally protected fundamental right to privacy that is an intrinsic part of life and liberty under Article 21.
- It held that privacy is a natural right and the right be restricted only:
- If the actions have legislative mandate
- It must be pursuing a legitimate state purpose
- It must be proportionate in nature and extent.
KEY STATS
Key Stats ()
Total voters in India
TIMELINES
Bill introduced in Lok Sabha
Bill passed by Lok Sabha
Bill passed by Rajya Sabha
WHY (as per the govt)
Salient Points ()
This would solve the problem of multiple enrolments of the same person at different places.
This would help in stopping bogus voting and fraudulent votes.
WHY NOT (as per opposition)
Salient Points ()
This bill is a breach of privacy of citizens. The linking of voter ID with Aadhaar violates the fundamental right of privacy.
The Bill is beyond the legislative competence of the government. This will cause great harm to the democracy of India.
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.
Therfore, Adhaar and Election card should not be linked.
Sharing of data can prove to be problematic as there is no robust law for personnel data protection.
MEDIA SAYING
Media Saying ()
The Indian Express 
Deccan Herald VIDEOS
Videos ()
OPINION POLL
Citizen Poll
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021
Do you support the bill?
Responses