Aadhar is not a proof of citizenship, states Kiren Rijiju in Lok Sabha

Feb. 5: Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Responding to a written question on whether there is such a possibility and if there are protocols to approve or reject such access, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “No such link will be created.” To a query on the rationale given by the government for using Aadhaar as a “legitimate means to authenticate citizenship” and whether the government has formulated a protocol to authenticate citizenship using Aadhaar, Rijiju said, “Aadhaar is not the proof of citizenship.” Parliament had recently passed a bill to link the Aadhaar database with voter rolls to weed out duplicate entries.

Recently, the Parliament passed a bill to link the Aadhaar database with voter rolls to eliminate duplicate entries. The Income Tax Department (ITD) extended the deadline of linking PAN with Aadhaar until March 31, 2022. After March 31, PAN cards, which are not linked to Aadhaar cards, would be declared inoperative. Also, a penalty of Rs 10,000 can also be levied upon defaulter each time the individual fails to furnish PAN card details.