Rules on linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls can be issued soon; sharing details voluntary: Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra

“It will be voluntary. But sufficient reason will have to be given by voters for not giving their Aadhaar numbers,” the Chief Election Commissioner said

Rules on linking Aadhaar with the electoral rolls can be issued by the government soon, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra (CEC) has said, adding that sharing Aadhaar details will be voluntary for voters, but those not doing so will have to give "sufficient reasons".

Mr. Chandra, who demits office on Saturday evening, also said that the poll panel played a key role in intensifying the vaccination drive in the five States, where Assembly elections concluded in March this year, to ensure that voters and those involved in election duty were safe from the coronavirus.

In an interview with PTI, he said two major electoral reforms which took place in his tenure as the CEC are the provision of four dates in a year instead of one to enrol those turning 18 as voters and the linking of Aadhaar with electoral rolls to check duplicate entries in the voters' list.

"Earlier, only January 1 of every year was the cut-off date. We convinced the government that this reform is very essential and these people should be enrolled as soon as they turn 18. With this reform now, there will be four dates in a year to get these people registered when they complete 18 years of age. This reform was pending for the last 20 years," Mr. Chandra said.

The four cut-off dates for enrolment is part of a Bill passed by Parliament a few months back to allow linkage of Aadhaar with the electoral rolls.

As of now, those turning 18 on or before January 1 can be registered as voters. Those who turn 18 on January 2 or later have to wait for one year to register as a voter. But once the rules are issued, young people can get registered as voters on four different dates every year.

"The second biggest reform is the linking of Aadhaar with electoral rolls to check duplicate entries. It will make the voter list pure. It will make the electoral roll more robust," he said.