Overview

• Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said Aadhaar is only proof of identity and cannot establish citizenship, residence, or date of birth under the Aadhaar Act and the Representation of the People Act.
• The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as a 12th prescribed identity document in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision while clarifying it does not prove citizenship.
• Kumar noted Aadhaar details were sought in enumeration forms on an optional basis and said the Commission has no objection to Aadhaar being listed as the 12th document for identity.
• The Election Commission plans to complete the Bihar assembly election process by November 22, with most parties favoring polling immediately after Chhath and in as few phases as possible.
• Defending the SIR process, the CEC said it followed legal provisions, reported 3.66 lakh voluntary name deletions after draft rolls, and reminded eligible voters they can still apply up to ten days before the election notification.