Election Commission's Big Move: Voter ID to Be Linked with Aadhaar
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Election Commission has made a major decision to link Voter ID with Aadhaar. In an important meeting held on Tuesday, the Election Commission of India granted permission to link these two. The commission clarified that this process will be carried out entirely within the framework of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s ruling. In an official statement, the Election Commission stated that as per Article 326 of the Constitution and Sections 23(4), 23(5), and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, the EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) will be linked to Aadhaar. Earlier, the government had decided to link PAN cards with Aadhaar. Referring to the Supreme Court’s verdict, the commission emphasized that the Aadhaar card serves only as proof of identity, not citizenship. Hence, linking Aadhaar with Voter ID will ensure that only Indian citizens are registered in the voter list.
The commission stated, “According to the Constitution, the right to vote is granted only to Indian citizens. Aadhaar only proves a person’s identity, not their citizenship. Therefore, this process will be carried out within the legal framework and in accordance with the Supreme Court’s civil judgment. Technical experts from the Election Commission and UIDAI (the organization responsible for issuing Aadhaar) will soon begin work on this initiative. The entire process will be conducted while ensuring cybersecurity and data privacy to prevent any confusion related to citizenship.
Recently, the Election Commission also decided that within the next three months, it will issue new EPIC numbers to Voter IDs that have duplicate numbers. The commission clarified that having a duplicate number does not necessarily mean that a voter is fake. The primary objective of linking Aadhaar with EPIC is to eliminate discrepancies in the voter list and make it more transparent. The Election Commission believes that this step will help in identifying fraudulent voters.
