Lok Sabha passes Aadhaar Amendment Bill

July 4: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad moved the Aadhaar and Other Laws Amendment Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha for consideration. The bill was later passed to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for opening bank accounts and procuring mobile phone. Prasad assured the House that Aadhaar is voluntary and informed consent of the biometric identity holder has to be obtained before it is used.

While responding to the criticism raised by the opposition that the amendment was going against the orders of the Supreme Court, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The people of the country have given us the right to make laws and we should use that right and this House has a right to undo judgments, we can make changes.”

“The amendments address the privacy and security concerns. It provides that no service or benefit of any scheme will be denied for lack of Aadhaar,” Prasad said. The amended bill also provides for a stiff Rs 1 crore penalty and a jail term for private entities for storing Aadhaar data.