Surrender ‘Fake’ Voter ID: EC to Tejashwi

• The Election Commission has sent a fresh letter to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, giving him until August 16 to surrender an “apparently fake” voter ID card.
• The letter from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) warns that forging and using a bogus government document is a crime.
• The controversy began on August 2 when Yadav claimed his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls, using an EPIC number that the ECI says was never officially issued.

GG News Bureau
Patna, 8th Aug: The Election Commission has given RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav a deadline of August 16 to submit his “apparently fake” Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC). The move follows a fresh letter sent to the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for the Digha assembly constituency.

The letter explicitly warns Yadav that forging and using a bogus government document is a crime in the eyes of the law. This is a follow-up to a previous communication from the ERO last week, which had urged the former Deputy Chief Minister to hand over the voter card for investigation.

The controversy began on August 2 when Tejashwi Yadav held a press conference claiming that his EPIC number was not yielding any results in the draft electoral rolls. When the District Administration in Patna rejected his claim, Yadav alleged that his EPIC number had been changed. He later admitted to possessing a different, officially recognized EPIC number but tried to blame officials for issuing two cards.

According to the latest letter, an examination of the voters’ lists for the past several years has led the ERO to conclude that the Election Commission had never issued a voter card with the specific EPIC number that Yadav had quoted. “It appears that the aforementioned EPIC card is fake,” the letter read. “You are once again requested to surrender your apparently fake EPIC card by 16/08/2025 till 5 pm.”