AIMIM chief autioned that such guidelines had the potential to keep legitimate Indian citizens from voting as well as break the public’s confidence in the Election Commission
NEW DELHI — All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that new voter registration guidelines in Bihar, requiring elaborate birth papers, are discriminatory and resemble the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process which may result in en masse disenfranchisement of voters, especially the poor and marginalised.
Owaisi cautioned that such actions had the potential to keep legitimate Indian citizens from voting as well as break the public’s confidence in the Election Commission. He reminded that even official estimates put only 75 per cent of births registered in India, and numerous government records have substantial errors.
Owaisi alleged that the new guidelines, which reportedly require voters to submit detailed birth documentation—including the date and place of birth of both the applicant and their parents—amount to implementing NRC “through the back door” ahead of Bihar’s upcoming Assembly elections.
Taking to social media platform X, Owaisi said: “The Election Commission is implementing NRC in Bihar through the backdoor. To get registered in the voter roll, every citizen will now need to produce documents not just establishing when and where they were born, but also when and where their parents were born.”
He warned that such requirements would “inevitably” exclude many genuine Indian citizens, especially in backward and flood-prone regions like Seemanchal. Being enrolled in the electoral roll is a constitutional right of every Indian, he said.
“It is a cruel joke to expect such documentation from poor citizens,” he added.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a process of verification of citizenship to identify illegal immigrants. It was initially done in Assam, where around 1.9 million individuals were left out of the final list released in 2019. It drew sharp criticism for triggering panic and fear, particularly among minorities and marginalised groups.
The NRC has ignited widespread protests in India since 2019, particularly when combined with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Owaisi’s remarks have found resonance among opposition parties and civil rights groups. Leaders from the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar have also voiced concern over the new documentation rules being introduced during the electoral roll revision.
Activists and civil society organisations have also demanded clarity from the Election Commission and called for safeguards to ensure that no eligible citizen is unfairly denied the right to vote.
