The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha
Opposition Congress, alleging legal drawbacks, demanded that the Bill should be sent to Standing Committee .
New Delhi: The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' was passed in Lok Sabha amidst uproar by Opposition parties on Monday. The Bill seeks to allow electoral registration officers to seek the Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters "for the purpose of establishing the identity".
During the debate in the house, Shashi Tharoor said Aadhaar is only meant to be proof of residence. If passed, the Bill gives the right to vote to non-citizens.
"Aadhaar 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," said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
"Voting is a legal right. Linking of Aadhaar with voter ID is wrong," said another Congress leader, Manish Tewari.
Opposition Congress demanded the Bill should be sent to Standing Committee alleging legal drawbacks.
"This Bill should be sent to Standing Committee. This has a lot of legal drawbacks. It is against the Supreme Court verdict and one which violates our privacy. This might strip off lakhs of people of their electoral rights, " Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, told news agency ANI.
The House was adjourned till tomorrow, 21st December.
