Amid the ongoing row over RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s claims that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls of Bihar, the Election Commission on Sunday asked the leader to hand over the voter ID showed by him during a press conference, claiming that it was not found to have been issued officially.
The poll body, in a notice issued to Yadav on Sunday, clarified that his name is listed at serial number 416 of Polling Station No. 204 (Library Building of Bihar Animal Sciences University), with the corresponding EPIC number RAB0456228.
While making allegations against the EC during the press conference on Saturday, Yadav said his EPIC number is RAB2916120. The poll body has now said that a preliminary inquiry into this indicated that the EPIC number RAB2916120 “does not appear to have been officially issued.”
As a result, the Election Commission has now requested the RJD leader to provide the required details of the EPIC card he mentioned during the press conference and also produce the original card before the EC officials concerned, for the poll body to conduct a thorough investigation in connection with the matter.
‘Did He Lie Under Oath?’: BJP Targets Tejashwi Yadav
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday alleged that Yadav committed a crime by keeping two voter IDs, highlighting how the (EPIC) number he cited at a presser was different from the one carried by him.
“The Congress and RJD have been thoroughly exposed… Did you (Yadav) lie under oath? Did you present wrong facts to the Election Commission,” BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra asked at a press conference.
Patra also said that the voter ID submitted by Yadav in his 2020 poll affidavit was different from he one he mentioned during the presser on Saturday, while claiming his name was missing from the list.
He further alleged that the incident showed RJD members cast votes at two places to inflate support for their party. “If a party leader like Yadav carries two voter IDs, then what will its workers be doing,” the BJP spokesperson asked.
Patra also accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Yadav of resorting to lies to insult constitutional institutions like the poll body and to weaken India’s stature.
On Saturday, EC had dubbed Tejashwi Yadav’s claims as “basless,” saying that inquiries were underway to determine the reality behind the second voter ID card. As per EC sources, the RJD leader used the electoral roll with EPIC no. RAB0456228 for filling his nomination papers on affidavit in 2020, news agency PTI reported.
“He was having this voter ID card number even in the electoral roll in 2015. His name with this voter card number exists in the draft electoral rolls too,” an official told PTI.
The official pointed out that the other voter card with the number RAB2916120 was found to be non-existent, and that records from the over the past 10 years have been checked. “It is highly likely that the second card was never made through an official channel.”
(With inputs from news agency PTI.)
