Demanding that only Aadhaar be made mandatory for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday alleged that the BJP government is colluding with officials to manipulate voter lists and commit fraud.
“They are adding fake voters and deleting the names of PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) voters. The Election Commission is also not acting impartially. If a constitutional institution does not function impartially, who will trust it?” he alleged.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the BJP government is acting arbitrarily and discrimination is taking place at every level.
Demanding the linking of Aadhaar cards with the voter list, he said Aadhaar cards should be made of metal and linked to electoral rolls, which would help prevent irregularities and fraud in the voter list.
Referring to discrepancies in the voter list even after the Special Intensive Revision, Yadav said the kind of reports emerging on the issue were bringing disrepute to the Election Commission. Displaying a list of over 200 fake and duplicate voters in the Kannauj Assembly constituency, he alleged that the BJP was colluding with certain officials to create bogus voters.
He said it was claimed that after the SIR, the voter list would be pure and inclusive, and that no eligible voter’s name would be deleted. “However, it appears that the Election Commission itself is confused,” he said.
Yadav further alleged that through the SIR, the BJP government was preparing a conspiracy to weaken the opposition. “It seems the Election Commission had no preparation for the SIR. The Commission should clarify who is providing it with technical support,” he said.
“We demand that the Election Commission explain to the Samajwadi Party’s technical team what exactly is happening with the SIR and the voter list. In several cases, there are two votes registered under the same name,” he said.
Yadav pointed out that the Election Commission had earlier stated that no notices would be issued to voters whose mapping had been completed. “However, notices are now being issued to 22.2 million voters citing mapping errors. In total, notices are being sent to 32.6 million voters,” he said.
He alleged that information regarding notice hearings was not being shared with political parties or Booth Level Agents (BLAs). “BLAs are not informed about when and how hearings will take place,” he said.
The SP president further claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who are government employees, are under pressure from the government and are posted on the basis of caste. “BLOs will be present during hearings, but party BLAs will be excluded,” he alleged.
“The Commission had earlier said that BLOs and BLAs would work together, but now BLAs are not being called. Even voters are not being informed about the hearings. This clearly indicates large-scale manipulation in the name of hearings,” he said.
He also alleged that officers with a BJP mindset had been appointed for hearings and were manipulating votes. “We hope the Election Commission will take note of these issues and act impartially,” he said.
Yadav reiterated that the Election Commission should share details of the technical support being used in the SIR (Special Summary Revision) with political parties and BLAs. “We have been saying from the beginning that this is not SIR but NRC (National Register of Citizens), and now the Supreme Court has also raised similar concerns,” he said.
He added that the Supreme Court had questioned whether NRC was being conducted under the guise of SIR. “It is a matter of concern that even Nobel laureates and the family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are being asked to prove their citizenship. What are the Election Commission, BJP, and the government doing together?” he asked.
Responding to a question, Yadav said Shankaracharya Ji had exposed fake followers of Sanatana Dharma and was standing firmly with the truth. “Every true follower of Sanatana Dharma in the country stands with Shankaracharya Ji. We are with him in this fight,” he said.
Without naming anyone, Yadav said those searching for Kalnemi should identify who the Kalnemi of Kaliyuga is and who is deceiving the public by masquerading as one.
He also alleged that corruption had peaked under the BJP government, claiming that contracts worth thousands of crores were being awarded to a select few. “The design of the Green Corridor project being constructed in Lucknow at a cost of several thousand crores is flawed,” he alleged.