What Akhilesh Yadav said about UP's SIR process, questions credibility of Election Commission
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has questioned the process of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the state and the credibility of the Election Commission.
Akhilesh Yadav said that no political party objected when the SIR process was underway in Uttar Pradesh. He said that there was an apprehension that three crore votes would be deleted in the state, and that is exactly what happened.
He claimed, "Even before the draft voter list was released, the CM of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said that nearly four crore votes were going to be deleted. At a time when no one knew how many votes would be deleted, the Chief Minister told his leaders, workers, and officials that four crore votes were going to be deleted, and these votes belonged to the BJP."
Akhilesh Yadav also referred to another alleged statement by another BJP leader. Yadav said, "The former MP from Kannauj said that three lakh votes have been deleted in one district. Votes will be deleted in other districts also."
Akhilesh Yadav questioned the Election Commission's responsibility and role, saying it is natural to raise concerns when BJP leaders are making such statements openly. He added that this entire process points towards a conspiracy and a deliberate plot. Akhilesh Yadav expressed his astonishment, asking if anyone could imagine that a plan is being hatched to add 200 votes everywhere, and that officials are being sent to districts for this purpose.
Citing these alleged statements, Akhilesh Yadav questioned, "If BJP leaders, former MPs, and the Chief Minister say this, then the question arises: what is the credibility of the Election Commission?"
Yadav said that the "difference visible" between the old voter list and the draft voter list after the SIR suggests that some conspiracy is afoot.
After the SIR in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission released the draft voter list on January 6. This list includes more than 12.55 crore voters in the state. This number is approximately 2.89 crore less than the previous voter list.
According to the Election Commission, 46.23 lakh voters were found to have deceased, while 2.17 crore voters had either shifted or permanently moved elsewhere. Among the deleted names, 25.47 lakh names were found to be duplicates.
Prakash Kumar Pandey