Rahul Gandhi opposes Voter ID-welfare link at Centre but supports similar move in Karnataka: Bommai

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for opposing the Centre's proposal to link beneficiaries of welfare schemes with electoral rolls while allegedly remaining silent on a similar approach in the state announced by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

In a post on X, Bommai said Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) had only spoken about the possibility of linking beneficiaries' selection to their names in the electoral rolls and had not issued any order in this regard. However, Rahul Gandhi had already strongly opposed the proposal, he said.

Bommai pointed out that Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had announced a similar proposal in the Congress-ruled state, stating that government guarantee schemes and other welfare benefits would apply only to those whose names were included in the voter list.

“Unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi is turning a blind eye to what is happening in his own state and opposing the Centre merely to criticise it,” Bommai said.

He alleged that Rahul Gandhi was adopting contradictory positions on the same issue depending on whether it concerned the Centre or a state governed by his own party.

“There are several such instances. What Rahul Gandhi expects the Centre to implement is already being implemented in his own state. This clearly shows that he is politicising every issue,” Bommai said.

Describing Rahul Gandhi's approach as condemnable, the BJP MP alleged that the Congress leader was selectively raising issues to target the Centre while ignoring similar developments in Karnataka.

It can be recalled that Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) stated that voter ID (EPIC) numbers combined with biometric authentication—rather than Aadhaar alone—would be used to identify beneficiaries and process payments under his ministry's schemes, such as the Pradhan

Speaking at a National Workshop on the Jan Yojana Abhiyaan / People's Plan Campaign, Rajiv Ranjan Singh argued that Aadhaar would no longer be the sole basis for benefit identification, claiming Aadhaar cards are easily obtained. He clarified that beneficiary verification would instead rely on EPIC numbers and biometric data.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties (including Congress and the CPI(M)) strongly criticized the move, terming it a "conspiracy" and warning that tying welfare to electoral rolls could exclude millions of citizens—especially those whose names were removed or flagged during the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh hit back at critics, accusing opponents of distorting facts and linking every administrative update to the SIR, while maintaining that the shift is meant to ensure transparency and prevent leakage to middlemen.

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