A significant move by the Election Commission of India to address concerns regarding the integrity of voter rolls. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
Key Points:
- Meeting Focus:
- The Election Commission is convening a meeting with top government officials to discuss the linking of Aadhaar numbers with voters’ Electronic Photo Identity Cards (EPICs).
- This meeting aims to address issues related to duplicate voter registrations and to enhance the accuracy of electoral rolls.
- Context:
- The meeting occurs amidst concerns raised by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regarding instances of electors in West Bengal and other states sharing the same EPIC number.
- This has raised concerns about possible electoral roll irregularities.
- Participants:
- The meeting will involve officials from the Union Home Ministry, the Law Ministry, and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
- Election Commission’s Actions:
- The Election Commission has acknowledged that some state chief electoral officers had used the wrong alphanumeric series when issuing EPIC numbers.
- The EC has also stated that they will be working to resolve the duplicate EPIC number issues within 3 months.
- The EC has also stated that having duplicate numbers does not imply fake voters and that only those registered in a particular constituency can vote there.
- Aadhaar-EPIC Linking:
- The linking of Aadhaar with EPIC is intended to help in detecting duplicate voter registrations.
- It is important to remember that the current procedure for linking the two is voluntary.
In essence:
The Election Commission is taking steps to reinforce the reliability of the electoral process by exploring the use of Aadhaar linking to identify and rectify discrepancies in voter ID data. This move is particularly relevant given recent allegations of duplicate EPIC numbers, which have raised concerns about potential electoral irregularities. Sources and related content
