Election Amendment Bill passes through Rajya Sabha amid Oppn walkout

TMC MP Derek O'Brien suspended for throwing rulebook at Chair; AIADMK, YSRC, BJD back govt

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was passed by the Rajya Sabha (RS) on Tuesday amid bitter contestation, claims and counterclaims as the opposition walked out. As he left the House, Trinamool Congress leader and MP Derek O’Brien flung the rule book at the Chair, something leader of the House Piyush Goyal termed ‘reprehensible’. Later, O’Brien was suspended for the rest of the winter session, which ends on Thursday.  

Earlier, the opposition protested at the hurry in which the Bill was sought to be passed as it was brought before the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), which decides the agenda, literally hours before it was to be discussed. As a result, the House was adjourned soon after the Bill was tabled. The opposition returned when the Upper House re-assembled.

Some opposition parties – the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIDMK), the YSR Congress (YSRC) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) – supported the Bill though they agreed with the opposition that some clauses give rise to concerns. Several amendments were moved by opposition MPs but the Chair did not permit division (voting recorded by voting machines) because opposition MPs were not in their seats.

Unlike the Lok Sabha where little or no discussion took place, the Bill was discussed in the Rajya Sabha though amid continual interruption and chants of ‘we want justice’. Placards saying ‘sack Teni’ and ‘protect Indian fishermen from Sri Lanka Navy’ were held up by MPs even as their colleagues were speaking.

While the opposition had no objection to the amendment that enabled those above 18 a chance to enrol in the voters’ list four times in a year instead of once; and generally endorsed the substitution of ‘wife’ by ‘spouse’, there was near unanimity that linking Aadhaar card to the electoral rolls is a dangerous step, as many Indian citizens who do not possess Aadhaar cards could be left out of the voters’ list or those who have fake ones could be included.

The government said Aadhaar was the best way of verifying citizens’ residential status. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Modi said the opposition concerns were motivated by ensuring their minority voter base of persons who were not citizens but were voters stayed safe. He said this kind of voter had influenced the recent assembly elections in West Bengal, which is why it had gone against the BJP. Modi also said the issue of the linkage was discussed extensively in the Standing Committee on Law and Justice in its 105th report. At that forum, the very parties that were now opposing the Aadhaar-voter ID linkage, had supported it as a way to weed out duplicate voters.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju explained that the linkage was a voluntary provision and not a mandatory one. He reminded the House that it was the Standing Committee that had made this recommendation.

Sujeet Kumar of the BJD made the case for checks and balances. He said that while it was necessary to ensure the sanctity of the electoral process, protecting the privacy of individuals in the absence of a data protection law, was also imperative. “You are saying you will link voter ID to the Aadhaar ecosystem. This means Aadhaar data will be shared by many in the government, including the Election Commission, leaving the identity of individuals vulnerable to possible disenfranchisement, racial profiling and hacking. This is unacceptable” he said.

With both the government and the opposition on edge, a simple tweak in the law became a battle of wills, assertion and strength. Goyal later addressed a House that did not have a single opposition MP, saying the behaviour clearly demonstrated the opposition’s intent was to disrupt parliamentary functioning. 

Outside Parliament, it was clear that MPs including those who had been suspended, were in no mood to apologise. Former Congress party president Rahul Gandhi held a press conference which was addressed by the Shiv Sena and other opposition leaders as well. The issue was the dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra Teni whom Gandhi dubbed a ‘criminal’.