Telangana BJP chief hails EC clarification on FRC use in SIR

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Thursday, August 13, welcomed the EC’s clarification that the FRC introduced by the state government cannot be used as identity proof during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.

He alleged that the Congress was attempting to facilitate the inclusion of “illegal aliens” in the electoral rolls through the Family Register Certificate.

“Congress, BRS and MIM must at least now stop sheltering illegal vote banks and stop finding new ways to legitimise illegals,” he claimed, in a post on X.

Election Commission authorities on Wednesday said the Telangana government’s Family Register Certificate would not be accepted as identity proof during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.

A senior official told PTI that the EC had informed the office of the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer that the FRC would not be accepted as valid identity proof for the SIR.

Last month, the state government constituted a statewide electronic Telangana Family Register and introduced a facility to obtain a Family Register Certificate through the MeeSeva platform. It is a flagship e-governance initiative of the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments.

According to a government order, the Family Register was introduced to facilitate the delivery of citizen services, ensure uniformity in the verification of family particulars and provide an easily accessible record.