The Aadhaar-voter ID link

Problems with electoral rolls exist; but the government must be mindful that the technology may not be foolproof

Amendments to the election law to allow the interlinking of Aadhaar and the voter identity database were cleared by the Lok Sabha amid resistance from the Opposition. The idea to use the biometrics-based identity to clean up electoral rolls goes back more than five years, when the Election Commission (EC) carried out pilot projects to remove unverifiable entries in some states. That process was halted by the Supreme Court (SC) months later and upheld in a final order in the Puttaswamy judgment of 2017 that made the right to privacy a fundamental right for Indians. Since then, the government has enacted new rules to create a legal basis for collection of Aadhaar beyond the purposes enumerated in the top court’s ruling.

In the Lok Sabha on Monday, several Opposition members said that the bill would lead to violation of privacy, disenfranchise voters, and breach red lines drawn by the SC (REUTERS)

In the Lok Sabha on Monday, several Opposition members said that the bill would lead to violation of privacy, disenfranchise voters, and breach red lines drawn by the SC. The government said those fears were unfounded, and that there was a misinterpretation of the top court’s order. Law minister Kiren Rijiju also said the government has a legal basis to legislate on certain matters relating to the election process, including by helping the EC ensure the voter roll is credible. EC officials, spanning the terms of different office-bearers, have seen the linking of Aadhaar and the voter identity database as an effective way to do this.

But can technocratic solutions solve legacy administrative problems? Electoral rolls are flawed because existing processes for verification have not been followed properly. Such administrative issues may well continue and even take new forms if the process is digitised. Additionally, there are privacy and abuse concerns inherent to technology. However, as controversial and debated as the use of Aadhaar for services and subsidies has been, it has helped push through some key projects. The latest is the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme, which allows migrant workers access subsidised food grain anywhere in the country. Indeed, the scope for a digital, foolproof identity system to achieve something similar for the electoral process is significant enough to be explored. But for that, the government must be mindful that technology itself may not be foolproof, lay down guardrails to prevent its abuse, and codify quick recourse mechanisms for when the system does not, as it inevitably will in a small number of cases, function as it is meant to.