'Ensure voters are genuine': Bihar BJP's 'burqa' request to EC; RJD sees 'political ploy'

NEW DELHI: The Bihar BJP on Saturday urged the Election Commission (ECI) to ensure “proper verification” so that only "genuine voters" are allowed to cast their ballots during the upcoming state assembly elections.

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"We have urged the ECI to ensure that the tallying of faces of voters, especially burqa-clad women, must be ensured with respective EPIC cards so that only genuine voters get to exercise their franchise," state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said, according to news agency PTI.


He made the remarks after attending a meeting convened by the poll body with representatives of Bihar's recognised political parties ahead of the likely announcement of the election schedule in a day or two.

The RJD, which leads the opposition Mahagathbandhan coalition, denounced the suggestion of the BJP, a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"This is a political conspiracy. Only recently has the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls been carried out. New EPIC cards are to be issued to all voters with fresh photographs. Identification of voters is no big deal. But the BJP wants to push its own agenda," Abhay Kushwaha, who led the RJD delegation for the meeting and is the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, said.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal recommended deploying paramilitary forces in villages with sizeable populations of weaker sections who may face "intimidation" during the polls, an issue the RJD also acknowledged.

The RJD, which has been voicing concerns that the SIR might have been carried out to “help” the NDA, also urged the ECI to disclose details of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.

Additionally, the party delegation requested the poll panel to restrain the NDA government from making "populist announcements" without budgetary allocation and to put an effective check on personal attacks and abuses hurled at political rivals during the campaign.

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