In the wake of criticism from Opposition parties, including Congress, over the duplication in Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC), the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said this “long pending” issue will be resolved within the next three months.
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In the wake of criticism from Opposition parties, including Congress, over the duplication in Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC), the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said this “long pending” issue will be resolved within the next three months.
Referring to the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers, the poll panel said it has already taken cognizance of the matter.
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“Irrespective of an EPIC number, an elector who is linked to the electoral roll of a particular polling station can cast his vote at that polling station only and nowhere else. Sample enquiry of over 100 electors reveals that electors with duplicate EPIC numbers are genuine electors,” the ECI said in a communique.
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The poll panel pointed out that since the allotment of the EPIC series in 2000 to the States/UTs, some Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) did not use the correct series.
The issue of allotment of duplicate numbers due to incorrect series across States/UTs could not have been detected as the States/UTs were independently managing the electoral roll databases, it said.
The ECI said it has now decided to resolve this long-pending issue after detailed discussions within the technical teams and CEOs concerned in the next three months by ensuring a unique national EPIC number to the existing electors having a duplicate EPIC number and for future electors as well.
The poll panel on March 2 had said that duplication in EPIC does not imply duplicate or fake voters.
The ECI had made the statement while taking cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers.
The Congress had slammed the ECI over the matter and called it “bizarre”. The grand old party had also said that a unique voter ID for every Indian voter is the fundamental requirement and premise of a clean voter list.
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