TMC alleged 'EPIC scam' against Election Commission Photo: PTI TMC alleged 'EPIC scam' against Election Commission Photo: PTI The Trinamool Congress reiterated allegations against the Election Commission over identical EPIC numbers matter and asked the poll panel to accept the error within 24 hours.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, TMC Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Party Leader Derek O'Brien said if the EC fails to do it, the party would release more documents related to the issue on Tuesday morning.
PTI also reported that the issue will be raised in the upcoming Parliament session, and the TMC is also in touch with some other INDIA bloc parties that have raised concern over voters' lists in their states.
This comes a day after the EC said identical EPIC numbers or series were allotted to some electors from different states and Union territories due to a "decentralised and manual mechanism" being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all states to the ERONET (Electoral Roll Management) platform.
TMC Levels Allegations Against ECO'Brien, along with TMC Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose and Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad, displayed lists with details of voter ID cards with the same EPIC number.
"We want only residents of a state to vote in that state. Only voters of Bengal to vote in Bengal... Voters will not be allowed to vote as their votes will be cast by people with identical EPIC numbers," O'Brien said.
"These people will be sneaked in from other states to vote. This is unacceptable," he added.
Amid reports flagging issuance of identical voter card numbers to electors in two different states, the EC on Sunday said it would rectify the issue and also update its technology-driven platform.
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The poll authority asserted that while the elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers of some of the voters "may be identical", the other details, including demographic details, assembly constituency and polling booth, are different.
Terming it an "Epic Scam", O'Brien alleged that the poll panel issued the statement after the TMC announced that it was going to hold a press conference on the issue.
"Limited appreciation of the EC. I say limited because EC is admitting the error but not accepting the error," he said.
1d"In the next 24 hours,fef777 we humbly ask the EC to also accept the error. If not, we will share a document at 9 am on Tuesday morning," he said.
The TMC leaders also demanded an in-depth investigation into the matter.
Ghose, meanwhile, said the revelations made by TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee have proven what so far were just allegations.
Showing an electoral list, she said, "The original voter ID card is from Bengal, and the same number is being used by another voter in another state. How can two people have the same EPIC number?"
"This is a scam, a scandal and a criminal offence. There should be a time-bound inquiry, and the masterminds of this scam should be punished. We want to appeal to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi to stop misusing government machinery for this kind of attack on democracy. We will not allow the BJP to demolish democracy in India".
Azad also sought a thorough investigation into the issue and said it raises serious concerns over the state of democracy.
"It needs to be probed who are the officials of the Election Commission involved in this. Our leader Mamata Banerjee has warned that she can sit on a hunger strike at the EC office in Delhi," he said.
The TMC leaders shared a list containing the details of 129 voter ID cards from West Bengal and Haryana that had the same EPIC number.
EC Statement On Identical EPIC Numbers
The Election Commission on Sunday said duplicate numbers do not necessarily imply fake voters.
It also said that while elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers of some of the voters "may be identical", the other details including demographic details, assembly constituency and polling booth are different.
"Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective constituency in their state or union territory where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else," the poll panel said.
It explained that identical EPIC numbers or series were allotted to some electors from different states and union territories due to a "decentralised and manual mechanism" being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all states to the ERONET platform.
This resulted in certain state chief electoral officers using the same EPIC alphanumeric series and leaving a scope for the possibility of duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different assembly constituencies in different statessnk, the poll body said.