Lok Sabha Passes The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 Amidst Roar From The Opposition

• The Lok Sabha on monday passed the controversial Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to finally give way to various reforms including the linking of Aadhaar Card with Voter-Id.
• The Opposition vehemently opposed the passing of the Bill, with many leaders claiming that it was beyond the legislative competence of the House and stands in complete violation of the Right to Privacy judgement of the Hon’ble SC (K.S.Puttaswamy vs. Union of India, 2018). It was also demanded that the Bill should be referred to the standing committee for further deliberation.
• The Statement of Object and Reasons of the Bill states that the Bill seeks to amend section 23 of the Representation of The People Act, so that the Aadhaar System can be linked to the electoral data. This would help curb the multiple enrollments of the same person in different areas.
• The Electoral Registration Officers would be allowed to ask aadhaar numbers from persons already registered as voters for the purpose of establishing their identities. This will curb the menace of multiple registrations in different constituencies of the same person.
• The Amendment, at the same time, makes it clear that “no application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in the electoral roll shall be deleted for the inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number due to suc insufficient cause as may be prescribed”.
• As of now, the only qualifying date for being registered as a voter is January 1. After the amendment, January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 shall be the qualifying dates for the revision of electoral rolls.
• In addition to this, an amendment to section 20 and section 60 of the Representation of The People Act will make the elections gender-neutral for service voters.
• People who are unable to furnish their aadhaar cards will be allowed to submit other documents in proof of their identity.

And now, a question for our aspirants-

When did the Representation of The People Act come into force?