By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The government is considering proposals to link Aadhaar card with electoral rolls to check fraudulent voting and give online voting rights to Indians working abroad, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in Lok Sabha on Friday.
The minister said electoral fraud is a serious matter and the government is considering steps to curb this.
“Linking Aadhaar with the electoral roll is one of the ways. As of now, linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls is voluntary. Our aim is to ensure ‘one nation, one electoral roll’ to check double names in electoral rolls, check fraudulent voting and ensure a clean voting process,” he said.
On the proposal to grant voting rights to Indians working abroad, Rijiju said the government has suggested to the Election Commission to look into how this can be done.
“But before taking any decision, we have to ensure safety and transparency of the process.”
“Linking Aadhaar with the electoral roll is one of the ways. As of now linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls is voluntary. Our aim is to ensure ‘one nation, one electoral roll’ to check double names in electoral rolls and fraudulent voting and ensure a clean voting process,” he said during Question Hour.
To a question raised by Congress MP Manish Tewari whether the source code of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) remains with the company, which manufactures the EVMs or is it passed on to the poll panel, the minister said no one should question EVMs.
“Judges are appointed by the government but once they are appointed, they become independent. No one should question the EVMs and there should not be any inference either,” Rijiju said.
When the Congress leader insisted that he did not get a proper reply, Speaker Om Birla intervened and said Indian democracy and its electoral process has highly praised the world over.
“When I travel abroad, people say they have not seen such a good system in such a big country and everyone should appreciate the system,” he said.
The law minister added that India’s election system has been termed as the best in the world.
People say that they have not seen such a good system working in such a big country and everyone should appreciate the system, he said.
Rijiju said “We want maximum voting and a healthy system. India’s election system has been termed as the best system in the world”.
Replying to another question, he said there is no proposal under consideration of the government to enact any law to enforce compulsory voting in the country.
Neither the government can force those who are in jails to give votes as they are under the jurisdiction of the courts, he said.
“We want maximum voting and a healthy system. People from the whole world appreciate our system,” he said.
To another question, he there is no proposal under consideration to enacting a law to make voting compulsory. He added that the government cannot force those who are in jails to cast their votes.
(With PTI Inputs)
