Concerns with Aadhaar-Voter ID Linkage
The Election Commission (ECI) wants to link Aadhaar with voter IDs to clean electoral rolls but this could lead to mass disenfranchisement.
The process is marketed as voluntary, but it requires voters to either provide Aadhaar or declare they don't have one, forcing compliance.
Over 66 crore Aadhaar numbers were linked by September 2023, with concerns over coercive legal frameworks and questionable data-sharing practices.
Practical Issues and Legal Concerns
Citizens unwilling or unable to submit Aadhaar face significant hurdles, such as being forced to physically appear before Electoral Registration Officers to justify their decision.
Previous attempts to link Aadhaar with voter IDs led to wrongful deletions from electoral rolls, as seen in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (2015), where 55 lakh voters were wrongly removed.
There is a lack of clear appeal mechanisms if Aadhaar submission is rejected.
Aadhaar's Reliability and Privacy Risks
Aadhaar was never intended as proof of citizenship, and its use in voter ID linkage is unreliable, as even non-citizens can have Aadhaar.
Linking Aadhaar could lead to dragnet surveillance and political profiling, allowing targeted campaigns and manipulation of electoral rolls.
The CAG report reveals duplication and faulty biometric data in Aadhaar, making it an unreliable tool for voter verification.
Alternative Solutions and Call for Reconsideration
Instead of Aadhaar linkage, the ECI should focus on traditional voter verification methods, like door-to-door checks and electoral roll audits.
The Aadhaar-voter ID linkage risks privacy violations and voter disenfranchisement and should be reconsidered to protect democratic integrity.
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