The Congress, on Friday, slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for announcing to resolve the issue of duplication in Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) within the next three months, calling it “duplicitous response”.

Earlier in the day, in the wake of criticism from Opposition parties, including Congress, over the matter, the ECI said this “long pending” issue would be resolved within the next three months.

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In a statement, Congress’ Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE) committee, which looks into issues related to the conduct of free and fair elections, said, “The ECI has issued a duplicitous response on the issue of same voter IDs being allotted to multiple voters. The ECI, in its response, hides behind its processes to offer a feeble explanation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, the ECI has been forced to admit that its voter lists are flawed and not trustworthy.”

“The ECI, in a letter issued on September 18th 2008 to chief electoral officers of all states, had said that ‘voter-IDs are unique’. However, the ECI today says the issue of duplicate voter-IDs is a ‘decades long issue’. Which statement of the ECI should the citizens of India believe? Why should an average Indian voter today trust the ECI,” it asked.

The party’s panel also posed questions to the poll panel over the matter.

“Further, how is it that 17 years later, the ECI speaks of constituting a body to clean up this process of multiple voter-IDs? Was the ECI then all along misrepresenting to the voters of India that the ‘voter-IDs were unique’? If yes, then what are the other processes that the ECI has been misrepresenting to its citizens,” the EAGLE questioned.

It said there was a categorical demand made by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with other concerned political leaders and parties, for the ECI to provide a copy of the Maharashtra voter rolls. “Why has there been a deafening silence on this? This only reaffirms what the Congress party has been asserting voter lists under the current ECI are dubious and flawed. The Congress party rejects this feeble and duplicitous explanation by the ECI and reiterates its demands to come clean on the sanctity of voter lists in India,” the party panel added.