New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): Reacting to the Supreme Court's decision on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, BJP MP Sambit Patra accused the Congress and Opposition parties of hypocrisy, stating they earlier opposed Aadhaar-voter ID linkage but are now demanding its inclusion. He said this shift exposes their 'double standards' on Aadhaar's role in electoral reforms.

Speaking to ANI, Patra said, 'The way the Opposition and the Congress are opposing the Aadhar Card, it shows their double standards. When PM Modi spoke about Aadhaar in the Parliament and said that if there are to be no middlemen, then Aadhaar is required... The Opposition and the Congress spoke against the PM.'

'In 2022, when the government decided to link Aadhaar with the voter card, Congress took the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that Aadhaar is solely for identification purposes and that linking it with the voter card was inappropriate. Today, they are saying that voting rights and citizenship should be decided based on Aadhaar. This reflects the double standards of the Congress,' he added.

Reacting to the same court order, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh stated that the Election Commission of India's (ECI) 'spin' on 'no stay' being given has been clearly 'exposed' by the Supreme Court.

Ramesh, the General Secretary in charge of Communications for Congress, posted a picture of the order on X, stating that Page 7 of the order clearly indicated that any requested no stay of the petitioners.

He then said that deliberately 'misleading' headline management does not befit a Constitutional authority.

Meanwhile, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi welcomed the top court's decision while hitting out at 'ECI sources' for misrepresenting the court's order. He criticised the claims made by EC sources that the constitutional body accepts Aadhar as per page 16 of the Special Intensive Revision, while also informing about the EPIC number being 'pre-printed' on the enumeration forms being meted out.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court allowed the Election Commission to continue with its exercise of conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi did not stay the SIR process but asked the ECI to consider allowing Aadhaar, ration cards, and electoral photo identity cards as admissible documents to prove voter identity during the SIR of electoral rolls being undertaken in Bihar.

'We are of the prima facie opinion that in the interest of justice, the Election Commission will also include documents like Aadhaar, Ration Card, Voter ID card, etc. It is for the ECI to decide whether it wants to accept the documents or not, and if it does not, then provide reasons for its decision, which shall be sufficient to satisfy the petitioners. Meanwhile, petitioners are not pressing for an interim stay,' the bench stated in its order.

In its order, the top court noted that the timeline for the process is very short since elections in Bihar are due in November.

The apex court posted for hearing on July 28 the pleas challenging ECI's move to conduct SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar and asked the poll panel to file its affidavit within one week.

During the hearing, the bench opined that Aadhaar should be included within the list of documents permissible as an ID proof.

The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission of India's move to conduct the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

The petitions challenging the ECI decision were filed by RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam.The petitions sought a direction to quash the ECI's June 24 directive, which requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls.

The petition also raised concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards, stating that this would disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised voters, especially in rural Bihar.

Meanwhile, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi welcomed the top court's decision while hitting out at 'ECI sources' for misrepresenting the court's order. He criticised the claims made by EC sources that the constitutional body accepts Aadhar as per page 16 of the Special Intensive Revision, while also informing about the EPIC number being 'pre-printed' on the enumeration forms being meted out. (ANI)