The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi partners Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have raised serious concerns over the privacy of citizens after linking Aadhaar data with Election ID. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi in a letter to the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that linking Aadhaar data with Election ID goes against citizen’s right of privacy enshrined in the Constitution as well as undermines democracy.
The MVA partners were reacting to the passage of The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
‘’The Bill raises concerns about the violation of the constitutional and fundamental Right to Privacy and absence of data protection law in the country that renders the data of the citizens vulnerable and enables misuse of critical and personal information. It also violates electoral secrecy,’’ claimed Chaturvedi.
She further noted that linking Aadhaar and Voter Identity is unconstitutional and an unnecessary move to undermine electoral democracy. ‘’The Bill is highly questionable and will impact voters’ trust in the electoral process and system,’’ he opined.
NCP chief spokesman and Maharashtra Minority Affair Minister Nawab Malik said that there was a need for clean up of voters’ list as there has been duplication or triplication of the voter’s name in various parts of the country. ‘’However, the privacy of Aadhaar data and Election ID are of paramount importance and it needs to be safeguarded,’’ he added.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Home & Information Technology Satej Patil alleged that the Bill has been bulldozed and it's an attempt to intimidate the voters. "Bulldozing election bill 2021 asking citizens to now link Aadhaar with Voter ID is not a reform but a blatant tool to intimidate Indian voters by spying on them legally. BJP govt is undemocratically circumventing Supreme Court’s directions. Passing bills without debate is not only inappropriate but also an insult to our democracy," he said.
