Voter ID Card, Your Rights and Rules: Voting is being held on 9 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh by-election today i.e. on 20 November. But before voting, there has been a ruckus over burqa-hijab, niqab and ghunghat. Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and BJP have come face to face. On one hand, Samajwadi Party has demanded that Muslim women should not be checked after removing their burqa, while on the other hand, BJP’s Giriraj Singh said that every voter who votes must be identified. Now this matter has reached the Election Commission. It is worth noting here that voting is going on since 7 am on 9 assembly seats of the state.
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Actually, Akhilesh Yadav‘s Samajwadi Party has reached the doors of the Election Commission. Samajwadi Party has written a letter to the Election Commission demanding that Muslim women should not be checked by removing their burqa. It has been said that if Muslim women go to vote wearing burqa, then the policemen should not check them by removing their burqa.
Samajwadi Party says that the police should not have the right to check the voter’s identity card during voting. In such a situation, the question arises that who can check the ID card of a voter? Can the policemen remove the burqa of women? What does the Election Commission’s rule say about this?
Voter ID Card: What does the Election Commission rule say?
According to the Election Commission rule, verification of every voter is necessary before voting. To avoid fake voting, every voter is allowed to vote only after his identity is confirmed. The Election Officer appointed by the Election Commission ensures the identity of the voter by checking his ID card.
The Election Commission rule is that only the Election Officer or the Presiding Officer can check your voter ID card. However, in suspicious circumstances, the police or security personnel can also check the voter’s ID card.
Voter ID Card: Can polling agents check?
Polling agents of different political parties present at the booth cannot check the voter ID card. However, if they have any doubts, they can get the voter ID card checked by asking the election officer or by raising a question.
Polling agents are there only to prevent fraud in voting or to alert. Police or security personnel also cannot check the voter ID card. They can also check only for security reasons if they have any doubts.
Voter ID Card: Policemen cannot check
However, the Election Commission has issued guidelines and clarified the situation. The UP Election Commission officials have clearly said that the job of a policeman or security personnel is only to maintain security and peace. They cannot check the ID card of any voter.
Policemen cannot match the face of a woman with the voter ID card even after removing her burqa. Policemen or security personnel cannot even check identity cards. Only the polling officer has the right to check the identity card of any voter. Only the polling staff or the presiding officer can check the voter card.
Can a female voter be checked by removing her burqa?
Now the question is, can a Muslim woman be checked by removing her burqa? The straight answer is yes. To prevent any fraud or in case of doubt, the polling officer can check the face by removing the burqa.
However, for this, it is mandatory to have a female polling staff. Also, religious sensitivity and privacy have to be taken care of. But it is certain that policemen or any security personnel cannot check the faces of women by removing their burqa at any cost.
There has been a ruckus over the burqa earlier too
This is not the first time that there has been a ruckus over the burqa. Earlier, there has been a ruckus over the burqa in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as well. In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Madhavi Lata in Hyderabad removed the burqa at the booth and checked the ID of women voters. There was a lot of ruckus over this.
The matter caught such a big turn that an FIR was registered against her. There was a controversy over the burqa in the Haryana elections as well. Now the latest controversy is in Uttar Pradesh. However, the Election Commission has responded to Akhilesh’s letter and assured that no policeman can check the face of a woman by removing the burqa.
By-elections
By-elections are being held on nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Voting for this is going on since Wednesday morning. Long queues are seen at the booths. The seats where by-elections are being held include Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sheeshmau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad). The results of this by-election will be declared on November 23.
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