The Union government has on Monday - December 20 has introduced the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in Lok Sabha. The bill was tabled by the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and it implement the system of linking the Aadhaar number with the electoral rolls in a bid to curb voter duplication. The minister said that the legislation will end bogus voting in the country and make the electoral process more credible. However, it has drawn major criticism from the opposition parties. 

This electoral reform bill has been seen as crucial delivery from the Modi regime and the oppositions had expressed their fear and outrage that the bill would harm the constitutional values. The opposition parties, led by Congress, have said that it will infringe the fundamental rights of citizens. Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Choudhury and Manish Tewari had strongly opposed the bill, stating that the bill will violate the Supreme Court judgement on Aadhaar. 

According to reports, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "We are forgetting that Aadhaar was only meant to be a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship". AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi had alleged that the Bill will allow the government to profile and disenfranchise voters. However, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has backed the bill and said that the government aims to curb bogus voters through this Bill and it won't violate the rights of the citizens. He claimed that linking the Aadhaar number with voter ID is a step in the interest of the state. 

Madurai MP Venkatesan has staunchly criticized the bill and said that the anti-national Modi government has introduced the bill, which is against electoral democracy and passed it in the afternoon without a debate. Amid the opposition, the bill was introduced and Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the chair, had accepted the introduction of the Bill taking voice notes. 

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, seeks to allow electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters for the purpose of establishing their identity. The bill has said that the electoral reform is an ongoing and continuous process and the Central government has been receiving proposals for electoral reforms from various quarters from time to time including the Election Commission of India. 

"Based on the proposals taken up by the Election Commission, it is proposed to amend the provisions of the RP (Representation of the People) Act 1950 and the RP Act 1951. Accordingly, a bill namely the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 has been proposed", the bill added. It also seeks to allow the electoral registration officers to ask for Aadhaar numbers 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. 

On the other hand, the amendment bill makes it clear that no application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in the electoral roll shall be deleted for the inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number due to such sufficient cause as may be prescribed. People of such category will be allowed to furnish other alternative documents as may be prescribed.