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TMC team to meet CEC amid row on voter ID numbers
Derek O’Brien’s announcement comes amid a controversy, most recently in Bengal, where TMC accused EC of manipulating records in a way that gave an advantage to BJP
New Delhi A delegation of 10 Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmakers will meet chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday to apprise him of the party’s grievances on the duplicate Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said on Saturday.
His announcement comes amid a raging controversy, most recently in Bengal, where the TMC on February 27accused the Election Commission of India of manipulating records in a way that amounted to fraud and gave an advantage to its rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We sought time from the CEC and he has agreed to meet us. The TMC delegation will meet him at 5.30pm on Tuesday,” O’Brien told reporters.
Apart from O’Brien, the TMC delegation will include senior leader and legal expert Kalyan Banerjee, Lok Sabha MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Kirti Azad and Rajya Sabha MPs Sagarika Ghose, Saket Gokhale, among others.
While many Opposition parties are set to raise the duplicate EPIC number issue in the Parliament as the second leg of the Budget Session commences on Monday, TMC is the first party to approach the apex poll body.
“Since EPIC number is linked to voter details, a duplicate EPIC number will lead to denial of voting rights. The EC handbook clearly states that EPIC numbers are supposed to be unique. It is impossible for voters in two different assembly constituencies to have the same first three letters. Voters in different states have been found to have the same EPIC numbers. The EC needs to clarify how such duplicate EPIC numbers exist and how they got assigned. Why is the EC still unable to ensure unique EPIC numbers for every voter?” a TMC leader said.
