NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Thursday took up The Aadhaar and Other Laws Amendment Bill which provides for the use of Aadhaar number as proof of identity of a person, subject to authentication.
Piloting the Bill for consideration and passing, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Aadhaar card mechanism enforced by the Modi government is safe and has been accepted by the people of the country in an overwhelming manner.
Aadhaar card has helped the government to ensure implementation of the welfare measures and subsidies went to the beneficiaries directly to their accounts, he said.
The Bill replaces this provision to state that an individual may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number to establish his identity, by authentication or offline verification.
The Bill states that authentication of an individual’s identity via Aadhaar, for the provision of any service, may be made mandatory only by a law of Parliament.
The Bill amends the Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 .
Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury moved the statutory resolution opposing the introduction of the Bill and also said the promulgation of the Ordinance in March, 2019 was unwarranted.
He also said the Modi government is taking credit of the Aadhaar which was initially mooted by the UPA regime.
(AGENCIES)
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