The government Monday tabled a draft law to amend the voters’ roll act aimed at giving all of its citizens the national identity card, which is now only issued to adults.
Shafique Ahmed, the law minister, tabled the National Identity Registration (amendment) Bill-2013 in parliament.
The bill went to the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry for further scrutiny.
According to the bill, the Election Commission will be the authority to issue identity cards to Bangladeshi nationals.
The military-led interim government of Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed first initiated the process to provide identity cards to voters, Bangladeshi nationals above 18 years of age. Children were left out of the voters’ identity cards, which are used for many official purposes, though not mandatorily.
Complications in the official procedures arise as those below 18 years cannot submit such identity cards. Birth and death registration bill passed
The House also passed the Birth and Death Registration law inserting a provision of punishment for people providing false information on birth and death registration.
The House enacted the law by voice vote when State Minister for Local Government Jahangir Kabir Nanak proposed it. Main opposition BNP was absent.
Awami League government initiated the amendment as the original law passed by the BNP government in 2004 had no provision for punishment for providing wrong information on birth and death.
The law proposed one year in jail or a fine of Tk5,000 or both for providing wrong or false information on birth and death registration. Similarly, any registrar must face similar punishment for registering false birth and death dates.
Union parishad chairmen, mayors of municipalities and city corporations, presidents of cantonment boards and ambassadors of Bangladesh missions or their assigned officers are in charge of birth and death registration.
The new law also proposes establishment of a central registrar general’s office to coordinate and supervise the birth and death registration.
The minister said the 2004 act gave the registrars unlimited authority to change the information on birth and deaths.
“The provision of punishment for providing false information is a must for developing an accurate and qualitative information management system,” the minister told the House while justifying the bill.