Bihar voters challenging their exclusion from the electoral roll before an election later this year can present the Aadhaar as proof of residence, the Supreme Court said Friday afternoon, directing the Election Commission to add the government-issued ID to a list of 11 others.
The top court – hearing petitions contesting the ‘special intensive revision’ of the voter list – said applications for re-inclusion can be submitted with either one of those 11 or the Aadhaar.
The court also had some strong comments for political parties in Bihar, demanding to know why they – many of whom have opposed the revision on grounds it was ‘designed to disenfranchise’ communities that traditionally vote for them – had not assisted the over 65 lakh deleted voters.
“Political parties are not doing their jobs…” the court said, echoing the poll panel’s note that objections had filed been by individual politicians, i.e., MPs and MLAs, but not the parties.
“What are your BLAs (booth-level agents) doing? Political parties must help voters.”
