60% of Voters Linked Aadhaar to Voter ID | 24 Feb 2023

Why in News?

According to the Election Commission (EC), over 60% of India's 94.5 crore voters have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs.

What is the Status of Aadhaar Linking in India?

• Tripura has the highest rate of Aadhaar linking, with over 92% of voters in the state providing their Aadhaar details to the EC.
• Lakshadweep and Madhya Pradesh have the second and third highest rates of Aadhaar linking, with over 91% and 86% of voters having provided the number respectively.
• Southern states have lower proportions of Aadhaar registration compared to the national average, with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka falling shy of 71%, and Tamil Nadu and Kerala standing around 63% and 61%.
• Gujarat has the lowest Aadhaar registration by voters, with only 31.5% of voters linking the document to their voter registration.
  • Also, less than 34% of voters in Delhi had their Aadhaar linked.

Why is the Government Pushing to Link Voter ID with Aadhaar?

• Update Database:
  • The linking project would help the Election Commission, which conducts regular exercises to maintain an updated and accurate record of the voter base.
• Remove Duplication:
  • To weed out duplication of voters, such as migrant workers who may have been registered more than once on the electoral rolls in different constituencies or for persons registered multiple times within the same constituency.
• Pan India Voter ID:
  • As per the government, linkage of Aadhaar with voter IDs will assist in ensuring that only one Voter ID is issued per citizen of India.

What are the Issues Related to Linking Aadhaar with Voter ID?

• Unclear Constitutional Status:
  • In the Puttaswamy case(Right to Privacy), one of the questions that the Supreme Court explored was whether the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was constitutional or not.
• Different Purpose:
  • The preference for Aadhaar for the purposes of determining voters is puzzling as Aadhaar is only proof of residence and not proof of citizenship.
    • Therefore, verifying voter identity against this will only help in tackling duplication but will not remove voters who are not citizens of India from the electoral rolls.

Conclusion

• Along with pursuing the Aadhaar-Voter ID integration, the government shall also look forward to enacting the Digital Personal Data Protection(DPDP) Bill, 2022. The DPDP regime must also apply to government entities and require them to obtain an individual's explicit consent before sharing their data across various government institutions.

Source: TH