Opposed the linking of AADHAAR & electoral rolls while government passed it in the din of the house. The law was passed as a farce. I wasn’t even allowed any time to raise my objections, while the Chair allowed the Minister to make a detailed statement 1/n
I had submitted in writing demanding a division of votes so that we could register our protest against this unconstitutional law but that was also not allowed. If I were allowed to speak, I’d have raised the following points: 2/n
1. The Minister said that linking AADHAAR & voter rolls is essential to prevent bogus voting. If bogus voting is widespread then govt is not only casting aspersions on ECI but also doubting the legitimacy of its own 300+ MPs & BJP’s electoral success in various states 3/n
2. ECI is an independent constitutional authority that was established to ensure free& fair elections. Free & fair elections are a part of parliamentary democracy which is part of the basic structure of the constitution. 4/n
By bringing this proposal, govt wants to subordinate the electoral process to UIDAI. UIDAI’s own record is dubious to say the least. 5/n
3. AADHAAR isnt a reliable identity document at all. It’s not even proof of citizenship. In contrast, electoral rolls are revised frequently & have a sanctity by virtue of Chapter XV of Constitution. Inclusion in electoral rolls is simple, reliable & authentic. In contrast.. 6/n
...AADHAAR database is error prone & self-reported errors are 1.5 times higher than errors in electoral rolls. So why is a dubious database mandatory to authenticate the superior and reliable database of ECI? 7/n
4. AADHAAR data has been breached repeatedly. It was stolen & sold online for ₹500. Data of 10cr citizens of Punjab, AP&T was stolen & used by political parties. Madras HC also raised doubts over use of AADHAAR by BJP in profiling & targeting voters for Puducherry elections 8/n
5. SC had permitted mandatory use of AADHAAR ONLY for welfare schemes. But even there AADHAAR has resulted in mass exclusion of people. Studies have shown that biometric authentication, tech failures & “clean ups” have resulted in denial of govt welfare to millions 9/n
6. Linking AAADHAAR will make voters easily identifiable. Parties in power will be able to profile voters based on identity & the likelihood of favourable voting. They’ll be able to discriminate in welfare schemes to punish their opponents & reward their supporters10/n
7. Democracy works on the principles of secret ballot & universal franchise. Secret ballot means that my vote cannot be traced back to me. Only I will know who I have voted for. Once AADHAAR authentication is brought in, it won’t be difficult to identify who voted for whom 11/n
8. Universal franchise means that every adult regardless of location or identity will have a right to be included in the electoral rolls. This is enshrined in Article 326 of the Constitution. 12/n
Once the govt is able to identify if someone is unlikely to vote for them, it will be extremely easy to delete them from electoral rolls claiming that their authentication “failed”. What’s the remedy for people who are excluded in such an arbitrary manner? 13/n
If I am excluded from voter enrolment, then there is no universal franchise. Even without AADHAAR many communities are excluded through fraudulent means. This will just simplify the process and allow exclusion at a larger scale 14/n
9. It also violates SC’s judgement which recognised privacy as a fundamental right. Govt has to prove that privacy had to be breached for a legitimate purpose & that such measure was the least intrusive way. The govt must show that there was no other way of achieving it 15/n
10. As scholars have pointed out, this measure has no purpose. In fact, govt provided no data showing widespread fraud. This measure is the most intrusive in terms of individuals’ right to privacy. A similar effort in 2015 to link AADHAAR was stayed by SC 16/n
11. Our democracy is too precious for experiments where one’s right to vote is made dependent on some computer algorithm that no one understands n/n
It’s quite obvious that this law was urgently passed keeping Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh elections in mind.
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