PTI reported that the Rajya Sabha passed a bill that seeks to link Aadhaar with voter identification cards by voice vote on Tuesday, despite a walkout by Opposition MPs, as reported by PTI. Although numerous members of the Opposition had expressed concerns about the draught legislation, the Lok Sabha cleared it on Monday. Electoral registration officers will be permitted to request Aadhaar numbers from those who wish to register as voters in order to verify their identification under the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which would be effective in 2021. Several members of the Opposition parties raised their voices in protest when Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh refused to allow a division of vote on the Bill. They further urged that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee of Parliament for further deliberation and review. Parliamentarians from the Congress Party, the Trinamool Congress, left-wing groups, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Nationalist Congress Party stormed out of the House because their demands had not been met.
Rajya Sabha: Farm Laws Repeal Bill Passed In 5 Minutes
According to the Press Trust of India, the Rajya Sabha adopted the Bill after members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United), the YSR Congress Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Biju Janata Dal voted in favor of it. They claim it will aid in the removal of duplicate and fictitious votes from the electoral rolls in the future. Activists, on the other hand, have expressed concern about the perils of utilizing Aadhaar as a method of culling out names from voter lists, given the significant disparity between the two databases. According to Live Law, the Upper House took up the Bill for debate at 2 p.m. on Monday, and it was passed at 3:15 p.m. by a voice vote, which was broadcast live. Derek O’Brien, a member of the Trinamool Congress, accused Harivansh of “doing the same thing you did on the farmers’ bill.” On the other hand, the three problematic farm legislation, which has already been repealed, were also enacted by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. Harivansh was also in the Chair at the time of the meeting.
