Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has called a meeting for discussion on the linking of Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and Aadhaar on March 18, sources said on Saturday.

In the meeting scheduled to be held at the ECI, Kumar will hold discussion with the Home Secretary, Legislative Department’s Secretary and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO in this regard, as per the sources.

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Notably, the latest development came days after the ECI sought suggestions from all national and regional political parties by April 30, in a bid to further strengthen the electoral processes, in the wake of Congress demand in Parliament a comprehensive discussion on alleged discrepancies in the voters list.

“The ECI has invited suggestions from all national and state political parties by April 30 for any unresolved issues at the level of ERO, DEO or the CEO, as the case may be. In an individual letter issued to political parties today, the Commission also envisaged an interaction with the party presidents and senior members of the party, at a mutually convenient time, to further strengthen electoral processes in accordance with the established law,” the poll said in a statement,” the poll panel had said in a statement.

The poll panel had also noted that Representation of the People Act 1950 and 1951; Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; Conduct of Election Rules, 1961; orders of Supreme Court and Instructions, Manuals and Handbooks issued by it from time to time have established a decentralised, robust and transparent legal framework for holding free and fair elections.

It may be mentioned that in the wake of criticism from Opposition parties including Congress over the duplication in EPIC, the ECI had earlier said that  this “long pending” issue will be resolved within the next three months.