SRI VIJAYA PURAM | NOVEMBER 4, 2026 | DWEEP TULIKA | NATIONAL NEWS
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly criticised the Union government's reported move to make biometric authentication and Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) the basis for accessing welfare benefits, alleging that the decision could further exclude economically vulnerable sections of society.
In a statement issued by the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, the party condemned an announcement attributed to Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh concerning the replacement of Aadhaar with biometric authentication and Voter ID as the basis for welfare payments.
The party argued that technology-dependent authentication systems could create additional barriers for rural workers, elderly people and economically disadvantaged households.
Concerns over biometric authentication
The CPI(M) claimed that biometric authentication has repeatedly prevented agricultural and rural workers from accessing benefits under employment schemes.
According to the party, some elderly women workers have been unable to complete authentication because machines failed to capture their iris scans. It also cited cases in which manual labourers allegedly faced difficulties because their worn-out fingerprints could not be matched by biometric systems.
The statement further argued that electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) procedures requiring smartphones could disadvantage rural households that do not own such devices.
The party questioned the government's earlier position on Aadhaar and alleged that a system once presented as reliable was now being replaced by additional identification requirements.
Links welfare access concerns to SIR
The CPI(M) also connected the issue to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing the exercise as a threat to voting rights.
The statement claimed that more than 13.4 crore voters had been excluded and alleged that marginalised communities, Muslims, women and economically vulnerable people were disproportionately affected. This figure and the party's assessment of the impact were not independently verified in the statement.
The party further alleged that certain state governments were denying ration and other welfare benefits to people whose names had been deleted from electoral rolls through SIR.
It argued that electoral-roll exclusion should not affect access to social welfare entitlements and referred to what it described as a Supreme Court ruling on the issue. The specific judgment was not identified in the statement.
Demands withdrawal of proposed requirements
The CPI(M) demanded the immediate withdrawal of what it termed an exclusionary decision. It called for welfare entitlements to be delivered universally, without making access dependent on technology or identity documents that disadvantaged households may be unable to obtain or use.
The statement was issued by Muralidharan on behalf of the CPI(M) Central Committee Office.
The Union government's exact proposed authentication framework, its implementation timeline and the legal basis for any proposed Voter ID requirement were not detailed in the party statement. The government's response to the criticism was not included in the material provided to Dweep Tulika.