Aadhaar Not Mandatory For Voting, Poll Body Tells Trinamool Delegation

The Election Commission of India on Monday assured a delegation of Trinamool Congress that voters will not be stopped from practising their franchise if they don't have an Aadhaar card.

The voters will be able to cast their ballot showing their voter id card or any of the other specified identity documents, it said.

The assurance was given by the Election Commission after the TMC leaders raised concerns about several Aadhaar cards being deactivated in West Bengal.

A TMC delegation comprising Rajya Sabha leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Dola Sen and Saket Gokhale, and Lok Sabha MPs Pratima Mondal and Sajda Ahmed, met the Chief Election Commissioner and raised the issue of alleged Aadhaar deactivations.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Mr Ray said they raised their concerns over Aadhaar cards of "thousands of people" in West Bengal being deactivated or omitted without following the due process of law.

"The Election Commission has assured that even if a person does not have the Aadhaar, they will be allowed to vote with other valid documents," he said.

The TMC also raised the issue of creation of District Intelligence Committees to oversee expenditure.

"The ECI has decided to create District Intelligence Committees for financially sensitive areas. These committees will have both state and central agency members, including police, IT, Excise, GST, and ED officers among others. This is the first time such a committee is being formed for West Bengal," a memorandum submitted to the ECI by the TMC said.

Mr Ray said they were assured that the exercise is being undertaken in the whole country, and state agencies will also be part of the committee.

The delegation during the meeting raised the matter of death of four children during BSF's drain expansion work in Uttar Dinajpur's Chopra of West Bengal and also urged the EC to ensure the central forces deployed in the state act within their remit.

"Soon after deployment of about 1,000 companies of Central Forces in West Bengal during the Assembly Elections of 2021 under the orders of the ECI, it appeared that in many places while conducting route marches some of the personnel of central forces started banging on the front doors of people's houses. The residents were threatened with dire consequences if there was any violence in the areas, etc," the TMC memorandum said.

"In the circumstances, we urge upon you to ensure that the Central Forces behave, function and conduct themselves as per requirements of law- under the proper supervision of ECI and State government officials during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections," the TMC said.

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