Parliament passes electoral reforms bill amid Oppn. walkout

New Delhi, Dec. 21 (PTI): A Bill to link electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem was passed by Parliament on Tuesday with the Rajya Sabha approving it amid a walkout by the Opposition and high drama when Derek O’Brien flung a rulebook at the reporters’ table after which the TMC MP was suspended from the House for “unruly behaviour”

Rejecting the opposition criticism of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to weed out fake voters from electoral rolls, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in our democracy, the electoral process should be cleansed and that can happen only if the electoral rolls are clean. The bill, which was approved by voice vote, was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Calling the Electoral reforms bill as “very good” and a “revolutionary” step, Rijiju also said the linking of electoral rolls to the Aadhaar number is only voluntary and not compulsory, adding it will help end fake and bogus voting and make the electoral process credible.

Sources in the government, meanwhile, said the move would solve a “major problem” of multiple enrolment of a person at different places and help in “cleaning” the voters’ list to a great extent.

The government sources said the Bill incorporates various electoral reforms which have been discussed for a long time, and shared a 2018 statement of the Election Commission (EC) following a meeting of all recognised national and regional parties on various electoral reforms.

“Political parties urged the commission to link Aadhaar numbers with electors’ detail for better electoral roll management,” the EC had said.

The Bill seeks to allow electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters “for the purpose of establishing the identity”.

At the same time, 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 inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number due to such sufficient cause as may be prescribed”.

The Bill was passed after an hour-long discussion with members of several parties supporting the bill though some concerns were voiced.

Members of the BJP, JD(U), YSRCP, AIADMK, BJD, TDP and TMC-M said it will help in eradicating duplicate and fake voters from electoral rolls, and termed it as a far-reaching electoral reform.

The discussion continued amid protests by opposition members who were in the well throughout raising slogans. They later staged a walkout as their demand for sending the Bill to a Select Committee was rejected.

Members of the Congress, TMC, CPI-M, CPI, DMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party(SP), AAP and NCP walked out from the House in protest. They earlier opposed the Bill saying it infringes on voters’ right to privacy and goes against the Supreme Court judgement.

“This Bill will be opposed only by those who take advantage of fake voting. Otherwise, there is no basis for opposing this Bill,” Rijiju said, adding that new and genuine voters will never forgive them for doing so. The country has understood the necessity of this electoral reform Bill, he said.

The opposition parties demanded a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the Bill to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote,

O’Brien cited rules for a division of votes even as Deputy Chairman Harivansh urged members to go to their seats to enable this process. However, opposition members continued to raise slogans in the well of the House.

“…we have all the regards for the rules but the same thing you did on the farm laws you are doing today,” O’Brien said as he threw the Rajya Sabha rule book towards the Chair and announced a walkout from the House. The book fell on the table where officials sit along with the Secretary General.

Ruling party members strongly condemned the Trinamool Congress(TMC) leader’s act with Leader of the House Piyush Goyal saying it is not only an insult of the chair or the secretary general or the table or the House but an insult to the entire country.

O’Brien was later suspended for the remainder of the Winter session for his unruly behaviour, after a motion by the government in this regard was passed unanimously. Parliament is due to adjourn on Thursday.

The bill was subsequently passed with a voice vote.