NEW DELHI: Names of those who do not want to link their Aadhaar numbers with their voter identity cards will not be removed from the electoral rolls, the government has said.
“The Election Laws (Amendment) Act allows electoral registration officers to require the existing or prospective elector to provide his/her Aadhaar number for the purpose of establishing identity on a voluntary basis,” law minister Kiren Rijiju said in the Lok Sabha.
Read More: From buying goods online to investments – how UPI single block multiple debit will benefit you
The Aadhaar number is used only for authentication purposes and the Election Commission does not retrieve any personal information from the database, he said.
“lt is voluntary to link Aadhaar with voter ID, and consent is obtained from the elector for Aadhaar authentication in Form 6B,” he said. However, there is no provision for withdrawing consent.
Read More: Bank Holidays 2023: Banks to remain closed THESE days in 2023, detailed list here
There is also no proposal to ban opinion polls, the minister said in reply to another question. However, Rijiju said that in order to have free and fair elections in the country, there exists certain restrictions on exit polls.
