Voter ID to replace Aadhaar for welfare schemes and benefits? BJP government's plan sparks row

The Centre's proposal to make voter ID numbers and biometric authentication mandatory for accessing welfare benefits has triggered a political row, with the CPI(M) on Wednesday warning that the move could shut out millions of vulnerable people from government schemes, particularly amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh has said beneficiaries would be required to provide their Electors' Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers along with biometric authentication for identification and payments. Singh questioned the reliability of Aadhaar as a means of identifying beneficiaries, arguing that the document could now be obtained within minutes through widely available enrolment facilities.

The announcement, however, has raised questions over the scope of the proposed arrangement, as the Ministry of Panchayati Raj does not directly operate schemes involving payments to individual beneficiaries. The minister has also not specified which welfare schemes would come under the proposed system.


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CPI(M) hits back, flags SIR-related exclusions

The CPI(M) condemned the proposal, alleging that making voter ID a requirement for welfare payments would create additional barriers for rural and economically vulnerable households.

In a statement, the party's politburo said the shift away from Aadhaar-based identification could worsen existing difficulties faced by beneficiaries in accessing government assistance.

Citing instances of elderly women agricultural workers whose iris scans could not be captured by biometric machines and manual labourers whose worn-out fingerprints failed authentication, the party said technology-based verification was already preventing eligible people from receiving benefits. It also flagged electronic KYC requirements involving smartphones, pointing out that many rural households do not own such devices.

The party raised particular concern over the use of EPIC numbers at a time when the SIR exercise is underway, describing it as an exercise in "mass disenfranchisement".

Claiming that more than 13.4 crore voters had been excluded from electoral rolls, the CPI(M) alleged that marginalised communities, Muslims, women and economically weaker sections had been disproportionately affected.

"Now, demanding Voter ID for welfare will make these schemes even more exclusive," it said.

The party also alleged that some state governments were withholding ration and other welfare benefits from people whose names had been deleted during the SIR exercise. It maintained that exclusion from electoral rolls should not become grounds for denying social welfare entitlements.

CPI(M) questions Centre's Aadhaar position

The party also questioned the government's shift in its position on Aadhaar, alleging that the Centre had earlier assured the Supreme Court that the document would not be mandatory but subsequently expanded its use across welfare schemes.

"Having touted Aadhaar as foolproof, the government itself is discarding it," the CPI(M) said, demanding that the proposed change be withdrawn immediately.

Aadhaar is currently used for beneficiary identification and payments under several central government programmes, including rural housing assistance, PM-KISAN and social security pensions.

The CPI(M) said welfare benefits should be provided universally and should not depend on access to particular documents, smartphones or technology-based authentication systems.