A new flashpoint between the ruling and opposition benches emerged on Monday with the Lok Sabha passing the Election Act (Amendment) Bill amid protests in the House. This bill will allow our voter list to be digitally linked with the Aadhaar identification details of the voters. Members opposing this had various objections, such as whether non-citizens would get a chance to vote, given that Aadhaar is a biometric ID card that also establishes the holder’s domestic domicile but not citizenship.
If the Election Commission expects people to use voter ID cards or Aadhaar to cast their votes, it could create a problem. If not, it is not clear what such a link would provide us at the ballot booths. When the Aadhaar system was introduced, it promised that it would eliminate the need for multiple documents to prove who we are. Instead, it was deployed as an add-on requirement for many government interfaces, increasing our civil compliance burden. Today, the Centre’s enthusiasm for Aadhaar linkage with other databases is aimed less at making our lives easier and more on data consolidation for purposes that are yet to be justified enough.
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