Crisis on lakhs of voters in UP! The residence certificate given by the government has been invalidated by the Election Commission, know what will happen now?

Bareilly/Lucknow: A big problem has arisen in front of lakhs of voters in Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission sent a notice to a woman in Bareilly’s Amla area only because she could produce only ‘usual residence certificate’ during the verification of the voter list. The Commission refused to accept this, because it required ‘Permanent Residence Certificate’, which is no longer made in the state. This case is not just about one woman, but is an example of the administrative dilemma in which lakhs of voters of the state are stuck. The Election Commission is considering the certificates issued by the government as illegal, due to which people are facing the problem of proving their citizenship and address.

Common voter trapped in government confusion

This entire controversy has arisen from the conflict of rules of two government departments. On one hand, Lekhpal and Tehsil administration say that now only ‘General Residence Certificate’ is issued in the entire Uttar Pradesh. This certificate is valid for students’ scholarship, pension and all other government schemes. On the other hand, the Election Commission is adamant on demanding only ‘permanent residence certificate’ for verification of its voter list. District level officials are also surprised that when the state government is making only one type of residence certificate, how can the commission reject it. The general public is having to bear the brunt of this conflict.

Why did the Election Commission reject the ‘Ordinary Residence Certificate’?

Clarifying the situation on this big controversy, Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh Navdeep Rinwa explained why ‘General Residence Certificate’ cannot be accepted. He said, “This certificate can be issued only if a person has stayed somewhere for 5-6 months. It does not confirm the permanent address of the person.” The main objective of the Election Commission is to verify the permanent identity and citizenship of the voter, so that there is no discrepancy in the voter list. Since the usual residence certificate does not fulfill this condition, it cannot be considered as the basis in the mapping process.

So now prove your identity with these 13 documents

Those who have received notice during the verification of voter list, there is no need to panic. The Election Commission has recognized 13 types of documents for identity and address verification. If you have any issue regarding residence certificate, you can present any one of the following documents:

1. Passport: Valid passport issued by the Government of India.
2. Birth Certificate: Birth certificate issued by the competent authority.
3. Government ID Card: Identity card or Pension Payment Order (PPO) of Central or State Government employees.
4. Educational Certificate: 10th mark sheet of any recognized board or university.
5. Permanent Residence Certificate: (If anyone has the old one left).
6. Caste Certificate: SC, ST or OBC certificate issued by the competent authority.
7. Aadhar card: Valid as per special instructions issued by the Commission.
8. Land or house papers: Allotment letter of land or house issued by the government.
9. Family Register: Copy of official family register issued by the state government or local bodies.
10. Old Government Records: Any identity card issued by Bank, Post Office or LIC before 1st July 1987.
11. Forest Rights Certificate: Rights letters issued for tribals living in forest areas.
12. NRC records: Copy of National Register of Citizens (where applicable).
13. Bihar SIR Excerpt: Part of the special voter list for voters of Bihar.