Exclusion from Bihar voter roll won't affect citizenship: Poll body to top court
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to pause the electoral roll revision exercise in Bihar, but questioned its timing, coming months ahead of the Assembly elections.The top court also asked the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID card, and ration card as valid documents during the verification drive. These are not included in the current 11-document list.Justifying its decision not to include Aadhaar, the election body said Aadhaar is merely proof of identity, and it cannot be accepted as a standalone document for SIR."Aadhaar does not help in screening the eligibility under Article 326. However, this is not to say that Aadhaar cannot be used to supplement other documents to prove eligibility. It is for this reason that the list is indicative and not exhaustive," the ECI affidavit said.The ECI has claimed that a large portion of the population already possesses one or more of the 11 enlisted documents.FORMS RECEIVED FROM 90% OF ELECTORSThe poll body said, as of July 18, enumeration forms from 90.12% of the 7.9 crore-strong electorate in Bihar have been collected. If deceased individuals and permanently shifted electors are considered, the SIR has effectively covered 94.68% of the electorate.The electors who are untraceable despite multiple visits by the BLOs constitute a mere 0.01% of the electorate. The last date for collection of forms is July 25.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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