EC asks Tejashwi Yadav to hand over his EPIC card for investigation as 'it was not issued officially'

The Election Commission on Sunday asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to “hand over for investigation” a voter ID card that he claimed to be in possession of despite having been “not issued officially”.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly had on Saturday demonstrated an online search, with the EPIC number, to claim that his name was missing from the state’s draft electoral roll published as part of special intensive revision (SIR) and, upon rebuttal from the authorities concerned, alleged that his voter ID card number was “changed”.

In a letter addressed to the former Deputy CM, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer for the Digha Assembly constituency said, “Our preliminary investigation suggests that the EPIC number you mentioned at the press conference on August 2 was not issued officially. You are, therefore, requested to hand over the EPIC card in original for detailed investigation”.

The RJD leader, thereafter, alleged that his EPIC number had been “changed”, but District Magistrate Thiyagaraja S M repudiated the claim.

“The EPIC number in the electoral rolls is the one that was submitted by the honourable Leader of the Opposition in his affidavit in the 2020 Assembly polls. If he is in possession of another EPIC card with another number as well, then it is a matter of investigation,” the District Magistrate said.