The Election Commission setting the ball rolling for linking Aadhaar with EPIC numbers is a “” of the allegations made by the Congress and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi about the “suspicious and dubious nature of voter lists”, the party stated on Tuesday.

EPIC, or the Electors Photo Identification Card, is issued by the Election Commission and serves as for Indian citizens to cast their vote in elections. The EPIC number is the voter ID card number.

Aadhaar is a unique 12-digit number assigned to all card-holders after collecting their fingerprints and eye scans. The database contains information such as residents’ names, addresses and birth dates. The data is used to authenticate citizens’ identities before they access public welfare. The project was created by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2009 to reduce leakages in the country’s welfare programmes.

The Congress’ statement came after the poll panel said on Tuesday that it would begin with the Unique Identification Authority of India on linking Aadhaar with EPIC numbers.

“We continue to demand that the Election Commission make public the entire electoral photo rolls of Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha election,” said the Congress.

The Opposition party had in February urged the Election Commission to explain how the number of (9.7...