Cong: EC must be 'named and shamed' for its Aadhaar stand

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday lashed out at the Election Commission, saying it "must be named and shamed" for its "brazen non-compliance" with the Supreme Court's directive to accept Aadhaar as proof of identity.

"Today, once again for the third time, the Supreme Court reiterated the point that Aadhaar must be accepted as a valid ID to register voters," Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said. "Repeated obstacles are being created by the Election Commission to deliberately inconvenience the registration of legitimate voters. It has refused to recognise BLAs appointed by political parties, declined to accept Aadhaar, and even sent notices to officials to only accept the documents it has prescribed," Ramesh said. "This Chief Election Commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar) and the institution he heads shall not be forgiven by history," he added.

Trinamool Congress also welcomed the order. TMC Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose called the development a big win for democracy. Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, hailed the apex court's decision on X and said, "Vote chori and mass disenfranchisement just got more difficult for ECI. Satyameva Jayate. Still miles to go, though."