New Delhi [India], March 19 (ANI): Congress leader KC Venugopal on Wednesday said that the Election Commission seeking to address complaints of duplicate EPIC numbers is a welcome step and opposition parties will keep a watch on the process.
“So far it is a welcome step by the Election Commission…Whenever we raise the issue of EPIC cards, the Election Commission or the central government is not ready to agree on that…There will be a 24-hour watchdog system in Congress and INDIA alliance parties to check the voter list and the activity of the Election Commission,” the Congress leader told ANI.
Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, held a crucial meeting with key officials and technical experts to discuss the linking of Voter ID (EPIC) with Aadhaar on Tuesday.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi along with the Union Home Secretary, Secretary Legislative Department, Secretary MeitY and CEO, UIDAI and technical experts of the ECI also participated in the meeting.
The commission clarified that the process will strictly adhere to Article 326 of the Constitution and relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. In line with a Supreme Court ruling, the ECI emphasized that Aadhaar serves only as proof of identity, not citizenship. Technical consultations between UIDAI and ECI experts will commence soon on the matter.
“While, as per Article 326 of the constitution of India, voting rights can only be given to a citizen of India; an Aadhaar card only establishes the identity of a person,” the Election Commission said.
“Therefore, it was decided that the linking of EPIC with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the constitution, Section 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and in line with the Supreme Court judgement in WP(civil) No. 177/2023. Accordingly, technical consultations between UIDAI and the technical experts of ECI are to begin soon,” it added.
The Congress said on Tuesday that the poll panel had “acknowledged” party’s charge of suspect voter lists and it was being sought to be “cleaned up using Aadhaar”.
“Congress party welcomes a constructive solution with guardrails to not deny anyone the right to vote,” said the statement issued on Tuesday by EAGLE (Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts) set up by the party.
It said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a statement confirming its intent to link EPIC Voter-ID numbers with Aadhaar numbers.
“It is a clear acknowledgement of the charge that the Congress party and the Leader of Opposition Shri. Rahul Gandhi have been making about the suspicious and dubious nature of our voter lists, as witnessed in the recent Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha elections. We continue to demand that the Election Commission make public the entire electoral photo rolls of Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections,” the statement said.
“The main charge of the Congress party was that there was an abnormal increase in new voters enrolled in just five months between the Maharashtra Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, implying that either these were fake, duplicate or ghost voters. Fake or duplicate voters is a problem of one person having multiple voter-ids. The Election Commission has acknowledged this problem of ‘one person many voter-ids’ raised by the Congress party, which can be eliminated through de-duplication using Aadhaar,” it added.
The statement said Congress supports constructive solutions that ensure clean voter lists, in line with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s assertion made in 1949 that ‘electoral rolls are most fundamental in a democracy and the independence of the elections process is a fundamental right’.
“But at the same time, it is important that no adult Indian citizen is denied the right to vote due to Aadhaar linkage. The Congress party urges the Election Commission to consult with all political parties and stakeholders, and assure them that there are sufficient guardrails to not deny the right to vote to even a single eligible citizen as well as the privacy of any single voter is not breached through this process,” the statement said. (ANI)
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