EPIC for welfare scheme is not just 'vote chori', it's theft of rights: Rahul Gandhi

• Rahul Gandhi calls Centre's voter ID proposal for welfare benefits “rights theft”

• He alleges SIR could lead to mass deletion of voters opposing the BJP

• Row follows Lalan Singh's remarks on requiring voter ID and biometric authentication for welfare benefits

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to deprive people of their welfare entitlements by linking access to social security benefits with voter ID cards, describing the move as “not just vote theft, but rights theft”.

The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the government's proposal to use the Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) instead of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries of social welfare schemes was part of a larger conspiracy to manipulate electoral rolls and influence access to government benefits.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls could lead to the deletion of millions of voters' names, particularly those opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The conspiracy runs very deep – take your time to understand it. Under the guise of SIR, millions of names are being struck off voter lists, if not stopped, even more will be removed. Whose names are being targeted the most? Those who are furious with the BJP,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also questioned the independence of the Election Commission, alleging that electoral rolls were effectively under the control of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom he accused of colluding with the BJP. He claimed that the Congress had evidence of alleged irregularities in the electoral process.

The Congress leader further alleged that the proposed system could make electoral identity a determining factor in accessing government welfare schemes, potentially putting the entitlements of people whose names are removed from voter lists at risk.

Warning of the wider implications, Rahul Gandhi said that people could lose access to welfare benefits simply because their names were deleted from electoral rolls.

“Name struck – vote gone. Vote gone – rights gone,” he said, arguing that the move could turn citizens into what he described as “invisible citizens” in a democracy.

He also raised concerns about whether the proposed requirement could eventually extend beyond Panchayati Raj schemes to other welfare programmes, including ration distribution, pensions, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), housing assistance, scholarships and reservations.

“Voting is your right, not a condition. A poor person's pension cannot be enslaved to their voter card. This isn't just vote theft – it's rights theft. We won't let this happen,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi's remarks came a day after the Congress criticised the Centre over statements made by Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as Lalan Singh.

The minister had said that voter ID cards would replace Aadhaar as the identification document for beneficiaries of financial assistance and welfare payments under schemes administered by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

According to Singh's remarks, beneficiaries would be required to provide their EPIC numbers along with mandatory biometric authentication to access the benefits.

The Congress had on Thursday described the announcement as a move that could go beyond electoral politics and affect people's access to essential welfare entitlements.

The party alleged that what it called “vote chori” could become “haq-huqooq chori”, or the theft of people's rights.

Rahul Gandhi also shared a video clip of Singh's remarks on social media while questioning the rationale behind replacing Aadhaar with voter ID for identifying welfare beneficiaries.

The controversy has brought renewed attention to the relationship between electoral identification and access to government welfare programmes, with the Congress warning that linking the two could put vulnerable sections of society at risk.

However, Rahul Gandhi's allegations regarding the targeting of voters and the alleged political misuse of electoral rolls remain claims made by the Congress leader. The minister's remarks, meanwhile, have triggered questions over the proposed identification mechanism and its potential implications for welfare beneficiaries.

With PTI inputs