New Delhi, November 6: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of pursuing a wider conspiracy through the proposed use of voter ID cards instead of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries of social welfare programmes.
Reacting to Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s announcement, Rahul alleged that linking welfare benefits to voter IDs could put people's access to government schemes at risk.
In a post on X, he claimed that millions of names were being deleted from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that people critical of the BJP were being targeted.
Rahul also accused the Election Commission of India of colluding with the BJP. He targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that electoral rolls were being prepared in a manner that would ensure the BJP remained in the majority.
He warned that making voter ID mandatory for welfare benefits could eventually affect access to ration, pensions, MGNREGA wages, housing assistance, scholarships and reservations.
“Voting is your right, not a condition,” Rahul said, arguing that welfare benefits should not be tied to a person's voter ID.
The controversy follows Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s announcement that beneficiaries seeking financial assistance and welfare payments under schemes of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj would need to provide their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number and undergo mandatory biometric authentication.
