New Delhi, Aug 22 : The Election Commission on Monday said that entries in the electoral roll is not to be removed due to the non-submission of Aadhaar.The Commission responded to media reports on the issue.”With reference to stories that have been reported in the press, it should be noted that the submission of Aadhaar in Form 6B is voluntary.There is no way for an registration in the electoral roll can be removed on account of not submitting of Aadhaar,” said the panel of polls.
The panel also referred to its letter sent to the chief elections officers of all states on the 4th of July of this year that stated that the collecting of Aadhaar from voters should be conducted on an individual basis for linking and authenticating of electoral roll information.
To facilitate the linking of Aadhaar number with electoral roll information A provision has been included in the revised registration forms to request Aadhaar information of electors.
A new form 6B is also available to collect the Aadhaar numbers of current electors.
“Amendment in section 23 has clearly stated that the aim of the collection of Aadhar from the elector is to verify the identity of electors and to verify the authenticity of entry in electoral rolls and to verify registration of names of the same individual in more than one electoral district, or more than one time in the same electoral district.
The aim of the program is aligned with the lawful provisions.It is clarified that the submission of Aadhaar is entirely voluntary of voters,” said the EC letter.
The letter also stated that in the event that an elector is not able to provide an Aadhaar number and is unable to provide his/her Aadhaar number and will be required to provide the original of one of the eleven other documents listed in the form 6B that was provided by the EC.
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