Kiren Rijiju to introduce Election Laws (Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes to allow linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem to curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places.

NEW DELHI: Union law minister Kiren Rijiju is scheduled to introduce the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The bill seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act to allow Aadhaar numbers to be used for registration of voters “for the purpose of establishing the identification.” It also proposes to replace the word “wife” with “spouse” to make the Representation of the People Act gender-neutral.

Union law and justice Minister Kiren Rijiju is scheduled to introduce the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha that allows electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters “for the purpose of establishing the identity”. (PTI)

The bill says no application will be denied and no existing entries in electoral rolls will be deleted for inability to submit Aadhaar numbers. Other documents will be allowed to be submitted for establishing identity.

In the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju is scheduled to introduce the Mediation Bill, which aims to promote and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, for the resolution of disputes. The proposed law seeks to provide for a body for the registration of mediators, encourage community mediation and make online mediation an acceptable and cost-effective process.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also expected to introduce the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The proposed law seeks to replace the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance.