Congress accuses ECI of using Aadhaar to clean up Maharashtra voter list fiasco

New Delhi: Congress has accused the Election Commission of using Aadhaar to clean up the alleged Maharashtra voter list fiasco.

On March 18, the Election Commission said it has decided to link EPIC Voter -ID numbers with Aadhaar numbers according to Article 326 of the Constitution of India.

Congress team reacts

The Election Commission of India (ECI) statement to link EPIC Voter-ID numbers with Aadhaar numbers is a clear attempt to clear the suspect voter list, said the Congress.

“The recent Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha elections have had suspicious and dubious voter lists. We continue with our demand to make public the entire electoral photo rolls of Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections (sic),” said Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Maharashtra had more voters

Congress alleged that there was an abnormal increase in new voters enrolled in just five months between the Maharashtra Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.

Congress alleged fake, duplicate, and ghost voters were enrolled.

Election Commission has acknowledged the problem of ‘one person having many voter-ids’. The issue was raised by the Congress. This can be eliminated through de-duplication by using Aadhaar.

Congress supports a constructive solution

Congress supported constructive solutions that ensure clean voter lists, in line with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s assertion of 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, no adult Indian citizen must be denied the right to vote due to the Aadhaar linkage.

April 30th meeting of ECI

Election Commission has asked all the national and state political parties to give their suggestions by April 30th. The commission has asked all political parties to come forward with their suggestions so that the electoral process can be further strengthened.

Congress has asked the ECI to have sufficient guardrails to not deny the right to vote for eligible citizens but at the same time maintain the privacy of every single voter.