After Bihar deputy CM, mayor caught having 'twin voter IDs'
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a notice to Muzaffarpur Mayor Nirmala Devi after allegations that she holds two voter ID cards. The Electoral Registration Officer has asked Devi to respond by 5:00pm on August 16. The notice was sent after Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav accused her and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of having multiple voter IDs for electoral manipulation.
Allegations made
Yadav accuses BJP of electoral manipulation
Speaking at a press conference in Patna, Yadav alleged that the ECI is helping the BJP by issuing two EPIC numbers to its leaders. He said Devi has two EPIC IDs, and her brothers-in-law also have multiple voter IDs. "We are exposing one more thing. Muzaffarpur's mayor, a BJP leader named Nirmala Devi, has two EPIC IDs in the same Vidhan Sabha," he alleged.
Vote theft claims
BJP using central agencies against opposition: Yadav
He also mentioned Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha Yadav, who has been issued notice for allegedly possessing two voter cards and registering as an elector at two places. "Now you call it a crime...or an expose...but I want to tell you that EC is helping the BJP, and cutting the votes of...opposition." "The people of Gujarat are becoming voters of Bihar. Bhikhubhai Dalsaniya, who is in charge of the BJP, has become a voter of Patna," he said.
Voter list controversy
ECI rejects claims of Yadav's name being removed
The ECI has also rejected Yadav's claims that his name was removed from the new draft voter list. The commission said a detailed verification showed his name was listed at serial number 416 of polling station 204 in the Bihar Animal Science University Library Building. The ECI also claimed that an EPIC displayed by Yadav during a press conference was "fake." It asked him to submit it by August 16, warning that using false government documents is a legal offense.