Tejashwi wants Aadhaar as SIR proof; Election Commission says Aadhaar proves identity, not citizenship | India News
PATNA/NEW DELHI: RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav led a delegation of the opposition INDIA bloc to meet Bihar’s chief electoral officer (CEO) on Friday, lodging strong objections to the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.The opposition claimed the Election Commission’s current exercise is “impractical and anti-democratic”. They demanded the inclusion of Aadhaar card, ration card and MGNREGA card as valid documents for voter verification under the SIR process in Bihar.Sharing a personal experience with reporters after the meeting, Tejashwi said, “My wife’s voter ID card was made on the basis of aadhaar card. Why is the aadhaar card excluded from the list of documents required for the SIR in Bihar?” he asked. EC officials here in Delhi clarified that the Aadhaar card was kept out of the list of 11 specified documents for SIR, as Aadhaar is neither a proof of date or place of birth, nor of one’s Indian citizenship. “It just defines that the 10-fingerprints, photo and iris belong to the person in whose name the card is issued. In fact, every Aadhaar card mentions in bold that “Aadhaar is a proof of identity and not of one’s citizenship or date of birth”.EC officials also mentioned that the Trinamool Congress, in its interactions with the commission, has consistently and strongly opposed linking EPIC with Aadhaar. Tejashwi also questioned the short 25-day window to verify 8 crore voters. “Around 4 crore voters from Bihar live outside the state. How can they return so soon to verify their bona fides?” he asked.The RJD delegation that called on the Bihar CEO comprised state president Manganilal Mandal, MPs Manoj Kumar Jha and Sanjay Yadav, former minister Alok Kumar Mehta, state spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan, Congress state president Rajesh Ram, legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed, Sanjay Pandey, VIP’s Mukesh Sahani, CPI-ML’s Kumar Parvez, CPI’s Ram Naresh Pandey and CPI-M’s Lalan Chaudhary.
