BENGALURU: Aadhaar is officially on the list of documents accepted for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) verification, but on the ground, several voters say BLOs are turning it down and asking for class 10 marks cards instead during hearings. The contradictory instructions have sent voters scrambling for extra paperwork, fearing repeat trips to verification centres if what they carry is not accepted.Officials from the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), Karnataka, clarified Aadhaar is meant for identity verification, not as proof of age or address. It can, however, be submitted alongside any of the 11 other documents listed on the reverse of the enumeration form, and the ERO has the discretion to seek up to three documents from a voter. Explaining why Aadhaar is treated differently, a senior official said, “Unlike other documents, Aadhaar can be edited time and again. This is not easily possible with the other documents listed.”
Fresh voter applications add to BLO burden
BLA-2 from CV Raman Nagar, Vinu Jade, offered another reason for the caution around Aadhaar: those from Nepal are also issued Aadhaar cards, though short-duration ones meant only to permit them to work in India. “Hence, Aadhaar in the SIR process only serves the purpose of validating one’s mobile number. It’s not considered as a document submitted for proof of citizenship,” he said.The document trouble has spilled into the online process too. A voter flagged a glitch in the ECI portal’s Aadhaar name-validation logic, which reportedly blocks those with single names from submitting Form 8 online even when the entered name matches their Aadhaar exactly. The confusion comes as the window for filing claims and objections closes on Sept 23. After that, hearings on notices already issued will continue until Oct 22.A week after he received his notice, a voter from RR Nagar said he got a call from his BLO asking him not to bring Aadhaar along with his passport. “I was instead asked to produce my class 10 marks card during my hearing, scheduled this week. To be on the safer side, I have now got copies of all my marks cards to avoid having to return to the centre again for lack of documents,” he said. He added that the BLO told him certain details of non-nationals had been uploaded and flagged by higher-ups during document verification.When TOI reached out to the CEO’s office, officials denied being aware of any such cases and said a voter could write in for clarification from the ERO and BLO concerned.A second voter, from Old Airport Road, said he had come prepared with his Aadhaar card but was similarly asked to submit his class 10 marks card as the second document.
