New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed a viral social media claim claiming that a dog named “Dog Babu” was issued a residence certificate during Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll (SIR) drive, suggesting it was then eligible to vote.
The claim, which gained traction thanks to posts by political figures like Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena(UBT), Congress’ Supriya Shrinate, and activist Yogendra Yadav, showed an allegedly official document with a photo of the dog and humorous parental details such as “Kutta Babu” and “Kuttiya Devi.”
This circulating certificate sparked widespread outrage and ridicule, raising concerns about the integrity of the voter registration process. However, the ECI issued a clear statement under its #ECIFactCheck initiative, categorically labeling the document as “INCORRECT.”
The Election Commission clarified, “Vote of every citizen is important. No voter of Bihar has submitted such a document to the Election Commission.” They emphasized that no official residence certificate matching the circulated image has been recognized or issued in any electoral process. The document appears to be digitally altered or misused, most likely to stir political controversy during the ongoing voter roll verification and cleaning in Bihar.
Officials from Bihar’s Revenue Department, whose stamp appears on the fake certificate, also confirmed that the image was doctored and has not been issued by any legitimate government office. The certificate number and QR code shown do not match any valid entry in the official state database.
The controversy surfaced amid rising political tensions, with opposition parties accusing the government of mishandling the voter roll update process. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and several Congress leaders mocked the ECI, joking that animals might now be claiming voter rights under the BJP-led administration.