The government may soon issue rules regarding linking Aadhar cards with voter lists. Under these rules, it will be voluntary for voters to share Aadhaar details, but those who do not have to give “adequate reason”.

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that the government may soon issue rules for linking Aadhar cards with the voter list. He stated that sharing Aadhaar details would be voluntary for voters, but those who did not would have to provide an “adequate reason.” Chandra also said that the Election Commission played a key role in speeding up the vaccination campaign in five states where assembly elections were held in March this year. He explained that this was done to protect voters and election workers from the coronavirus. Chandra is retiring on Saturday evening.

He said in an interview that the two major electoral reforms that took place during his tenure as CEC were providing four dates in a year to register voters above the age of 18 and check fake entries in the electoral rolls. There was a provision. This includes linking the Aadhar card with the voter list. “Previously, the cut-off date was January 1 every year,” Chandra explained. We assured the government that this reform is a must and that these people should be registered as soon as they turn 18. With this, now people who have turned 18 will get four dates in a year for the registration. This reform has been in the works for the past 20 years.

Till now people who had turned 18 on or before January 1 could register as a voter. Along with this, people who had turned 18 on or after January 2 had to wait a year to register as a voter. But now after the release of the rules, youth can register as a voter on four different dates every year.

Read More: PAN Card Rules: PAN cards can be made even before the age of 18, know the rules and method.

He said, “The second biggest reform is linking Aadhaar with the voter list so that fake entries can be checked. This will clean up the voter list and make it more robust.

When will the rules come

When asked when the government will publish the rules, Chandra replied, “I believe very soon… as we have already sent a draught proposal in this regard.” We have also sent the forms which have been changed. We have to go and we have it. Law Ministry. They should be approved very soon, in my opinion. We have also strengthened our information technology system.

When asked if the sharing of Aadhaar details would be voluntary, he said yes. “It will be entirely voluntary,” he stated. However, voters must provide a compelling reason for not providing their Aadhaar number. This could be due to a lack of Aadhaar cards, failure to apply for them, or any other reason.

Chandra believes that sharing of Aadhaar numbers will help in making the electoral rolls error-free. It will also ensure that the Election Commission provides more services to the voters through its communication system.

What has been the biggest challenge so far?

Asked about the biggest challenge as a CEC, he said the “toughest” challenge was to hold assembly elections and various by-elections in five states during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, “Because when the election time was approaching, we never thought at that time that the cases of Kovid would start increasing. We were shocked to learn about the new coronavirus, Omicron. We had to prepare because there was no one. Knew a lot about this form. So, all of a sudden, we had to make preparations to ensure the safety of the voting process and the electoral system.”

When asked if the Election Commission was responsible for ramping up the vaccination campaign in five states, Chandra responded, “Definitely.”. In the states where it was less…, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Manipur.” We reviewed the situation and asked the chief secretary and health secretary to speed up the vaccination campaign.

Everyone should have received at least one dose. If the first dose is taken, a second dose has to be given. In Uttar Pradesh, 100% of the people took the first dose. Punjab and Manipur also saw an increase in vaccination rates. We have taken all possible steps to prevent the spread of Omicrons during elections in these states so that voters and the voting process are safe.