NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of manipulating electoral rolls and alleged that 1.27 lakh voters had been deleted from the rolls in Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing the INDIA bloc's rally against alleged "vote chori" at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, he warned that those who came to power at the Centre through Uttar Pradesh would also be voted out of the state.
Describing the massive turnout at the rally as a sign of impending political change, Yadav called Ramlila Maidan the "Haldighati of democracy" and asserted that the movement to protect democracy would begin in Uttar Pradesh.
"As this public meeting was being organised at Ramlila Maidan, it was reported that the votes of 1.27 lakh Hindu brethren in Uttar Pradesh had been deleted—which translates to a reduction of 31,000 votes in every Assembly constituency," he said.
Referring to the recent MLC polls, Yadav said the people of Kashi (Varanasi) had reduced the BJP's "double-engine" government to a "double zero".
He also alleged that the West Bengal Assembly elections had been "looted" through manipulation of votes during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted ahead of the polls.
"We, in the INDIA alliance, will not stop. If we were unable to form the government in 2022, it is because of this very theft," Yadav said.
Taking a dig at the BJP, he said those who once spoke of making India a 'Vishwaguru' were now busy manipulating electoral rolls. He also mocked the party's claims of having an unshakeable political position, saying it should first consider whether it had any ground left to stand on.
"The change is in the offing, and 'parivartan' can come anytime," he said.
"Those who came to power through UP will be ousted from there. And 'UP wallahs (people)', who are good at welcoming, are better at giving send-offs," Yadav added.