'EC proposal to link voter IDs with Aadhaar under consideration'
New Delhi: In a major electoral reform aimed at weeding out 'bogus' voters, the government is working on a proposal to link voter identity cards with the Aadhaar database. According to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the proposal of the Election Commission of India to link the electoral roll with the Aadhaar ecosystem is under consideration.
In a reply to a question asked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sajda Ahmad about any proposal of the government for electoral reforms or instituted any expert committee for the same, the Union Minister said that the government is working on a proposal of the Election Commission to link electoral rolls with the database of Aadhaar to curb the menace of multiple enrolments of the same person at difference places. Ahmad represents West Bengal's Uluberia parliamentary seat in Lok Sabha.
However, the minister said in Lok Sabha that the issue of electoral reforms in its 'entirety' was examined by the Law Commission in the recent past.
"After consulting various stakeholders, the Commission submitted its 244th and 255th Reports encompassing various aspects of electoral reforms which, inter alia, include disqualification from contesting election on framing of charges, regulation of election finance and opinion polls, ban on paid news, etc," the minister said.
In response to the TMC member's query about the number of false affidavits filed by contesting candidates in the general elections during the last ten years, the Union Law Minister said, "The Election Commission has informed that it does not maintain such information."
However, the experts have criticized the proposal of the Election Commission to link voter ID with Aadhaar due to the absence of a law to protect personal data and lack of clarity on the mechanism of integration.
Citing the Supreme Court's historic verdict, the experts have said that when the top court has made it very clear that Aadhaar is not mandatory for availing the benefits of welfare schemes, then how it can be linked with electoral rolls.
