Poll panel waits for SC okay for Aadhaar-EPIC link

The Election Commission is keen on seeding voter identity cards with Aadhaar numbers with the poll authority processing 32 crore cards and requesting the Supreme Court nod to seed the remaining 54.5 crore cards.

Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said on Saturday that seeding process will resume once the Supreme Court gives permission. He was speaking at the 14th annual conference on "Electoral and Political Reforms" organised by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Karnataka Election Watch.

"The seeding process was stopped after a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Aadhaar," Rawat said and added it won't take long to complete the process if the court gives the nod since the 32 crore Electoral Photo Identity Cards were linked to Aadhaar in three months.

Rawat said biometric identification will curb voter duplication and double voting, helping the commission in bringing transparency in the electoral process.

Rawat said excluding electoral bonds from the requirement of reporting will impact the transparency of political finance.

He said that the commission had written to the government drawing attention to amendment to Section 29C of the Representation of People Act, 1951 that excludes electoral bonds from the requirement of reporting.

"This will impact the transparency of political finance," he said.

He said the commission has also recommended an amendment to reduce the ceiling on anonymous donations to
Rs 2,000 in line with the Income Tax rule that prohibits the receipt of donations exceeding Rs 2,000 in cash.