Aadhaar-Voter ID linking: They don’t want it now, but opposition parties have demanded this in the past
The government argued that this will safeguard the electoral process and stop bogus voting. However, the opposition cited the possible misuse of the information. The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 has been passed in the Lok Sabha, and is being discussed in the Rajya Sabha. This bill aims at linking a person’s Aadhaar credentials with the electoral process. The bill has a provision whereby the new applicant may voluntarily provide Aadhaar number along with the application for the purpose of identity. No application will be rejected on the grounds that Aadhaar number has not been provided. The government argued that this will safeguard the electoral process and stop bogus voting. However, the opposition cited the possible misuse of the information and the right to privacy. Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded the Bill be sent to the standing committee. Meanwhile, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Centre is curtailing the independence