'Name Struck, Vote Gone, Rights Gone': Rahul Gandhi Attacks Centre Over Voter ID Move

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to link access to social welfare benefits with electoral identity, calling the move "not just vote theft, but rights theft".

Reacting to Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh's (Lalan Singh) remarks that Voter ID would replace Aadhaar for identifying beneficiaries of welfare programmes, Gandhi termed the announcement a "conspiracy" and alleged that it could be used to deny entitlements to people whose names are deleted from electoral rolls.

In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha linked the move to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that millions of names were being removed and more could be deleted if the exercise was not stopped.

He claimed that people opposed to the BJP were being disproportionately targeted and accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of colluding with the ruling party in what he described as vote theft.

Gandhi alleged that electoral rolls were being prepared in a manner that could favour the BJP and warned that the same lists could now determine access to government welfare schemes.

"Name struck - vote gone. Vote gone - rights gone," he said, cautioning that the move could eventually affect access to ration, pensions, MGNREGA employment, housing, scholarships and reservations.

"Voting is your right, not a condition. A poor person's pension cannot be enslaved to their voter card," Gandhi said, asserting that the Congress would oppose the move.

The Congress had also criticised the Centre on Thursday, saying alleged vote theft could extend into the theft of people's rights.

Singh had said beneficiaries of financial assistance and welfare payments under schemes of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj would be required to provide their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, along with mandatory biometric authentication.

The minister's announcement has triggered a political row, with the Opposition questioning the implications of linking welfare benefits to voter identification.