The Election Commission is set to use the huge database of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to further “authenticate and purify” electoral rolls from March 1.
In a move that apparently aims at weeding out bogus voters from the list, the poll panel has decided to link Aadhaar number of citizens with the electoral database. The move will be initiated on a mission mode.
“Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) H S Brahma has announced that ECI (Election Commission of India) will be launching Mission of Electoral Roll authentication and Purification drive from March 1, 2015,” the commission said in a statement here on Sunday.
The CEC announced the move while inaugurating a workshop, organised on the “Linking of Aadhaar with Electoral Roll Database and Launching of Electoral Roll Authentication and Purification Drive”, at an institute in Hyderabad on Saturday, the commission added.
This comes two days after the Centre clarified before the Supreme Court that Aadhaar will not be made mandatory for the citizens for availing any social benefit.
The EC has already launched a National Voter Service Portal where people can feed their Aadhaar number for linking it with the electoral data base.
The poll panel is keen on completing the exercise by August 15. Brahma has advised all officers to come up with suitable action plan to meet the deadline.
DG and Mission Director of UIDAI Vijay S Madan has assured of providing all necessary support to the EC in its mission to link Aadhaar numbers of voters with the electoral database, the poll penal said.