EC has not shared any electoral roll data with NATGRID: Law Minister tells Lok Sabha

The Election Commission has not shared any electoral roll data with the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Responding to a question on whether the Election Commission (EC) has shared electoral rolls data along with photos with agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs, such as NATGRID, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replied in the negative.

"The commission has stated that it has not shared any electoral roll data with NATGRID," the minister said in a written reply.

He also said that the poll panel has informed that the electoral roll database is shared with departments of the central government or state governments as and when requests are received from them for specific purposes.

Citing the EC, Prasad said election commissions of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra use electoral roll data of assembly constituencies for preparing their electoral roll for local body and panchayat elections.

Manipur, Mizoram Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry are also among those who use roll data for the purpose, he said.

The EC conducts Lok Sabha and assembly polls while state election commissions hold local body polls in their respective states.