The Election Commission of India (ECI) Thursday announced that photo voter slips will no longer be accepted as ‘stand-alone identification document’ for voting at polling stations.
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EC has justified its decision on the ground that photo voter slip design does not have any security features and can be misused.
ECI has listed 11 documents for identification including driving licence, service identity cards issued by government bodies, bank passbook with photo, PAN card, Smart card issued by RGI under NPR, MNREGA job card, health insurance smartcard, pension papers, official I-card issued to MPs/MLAs, and Aadhaar card.
The election body’s direction comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due later this year.
On Wednesday, The EC had said that candidates contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will have to mandatorily reveal their income tax returns of the last five years and details of offshore assets.
The commission also announced yesterday that accessibility observers will be deputed at polling stations during the Lok Sabha polls to ensure that all booths are accessible to specially-abled voters. The announcement was made after Central Election Commission of India officials held a two-day review meeting in Maharashtra to review the state’s poll preparedness.