LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa on Monday rejected allegations of caste bias over an erroneous entry in the voters’ list, saying computers and software are not casteist.
The controversy erupted after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a voter slip in which the name ‘Ramhit Yadav’ appeared as ‘Ram ne Yadav ko Maara’ (Ram ‘hit’ Yadav).
In a post on X, Singh asked why the software appeared to have singled out a Yadav and whether the error reflected caste bias or a political agenda.
Responding to the allegation, Rinwa cited another unusual entry in the voter list prepared for the recently held Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections.
“An unusual name, ‘Ram ne Sharma ko Maara’, is also present in the voter list of the recent legislative council elections. Computers/software are not casteist,” he said.
He added sarcastically: “Thank God that Ram did not hit a minority. Otherwise, besides being accused of casteism, we would have also faced allegations of communalism.”
Rinwa had earlier explained that the software used to prepare electoral records was designed to transliterate names entered in English into Hindi. However, in some cases, it translated words instead of converting them into the Hindi script, resulting in incorrect entries.
For instance, when “Ramhit Yadav” was entered as “Ram Hit Yadav”, the software interpreted the words as a sentence and generated “Ram ne Yadav ko Maara” in Hindi.
Rinwa said the errors could have been corrected using the software’s editing feature, but some remained in the final electoral rolls. Another discrepancy, in which “B.Com” appeared in the field meant for a father’s name, was attributed to possible human error or negligence.
In a separate post on X, the CEO said the reasons behind the unusual entries were being investigated, and steps were being taken to prevent similar errors in the future.
He also warned that forged voter slips were circulating on social media and being shared by prominent individuals and established media outlets. Those responsible for forgery would face action under the law, he said.
Rinwa urged voters to verify information about electoral rolls with the concerned officials before sharing or publishing it as fact. Officials would respond to requests for factual clarification, he added.
Polling for 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats was held on October 23, with counting scheduled for Tuesday.