NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging widespread manipulation of electoral rolls and accusing the ruling party of fearing demands for greater transparency.
Yadav made the remarks while participating in an INDIA bloc protest march towards the Election Commission headquarters, amid heavy police barricading in the national capital. He challenged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to respond to allegations of irregularities in Uttar Pradesh's voter lists.
"We never fear the blazing sun or the sweat. The people of the BJP are terrified, which is why barricades have been put up everywhere," Yadav said.
The SP chief also levelled specific allegations concerning voter-deletion applications and questioned the authenticity of documents submitted in the names of individuals in Uttar Pradesh.
"If the BJP is so impartial, let Gyanesh Kumar come here and explain whose signatures were forged in the name of Nandlal Nishad. Who fabricated 100 forms in the name of Dashrath? The CEC must come here and answer. We caught them... the Samajwadis caught this red-handed," he alleged.
Yadav further claimed that electoral rules restrict the number of Form-7 applications that can be submitted for deletion of voters, but alleged that more than 100 applications had been filed fraudulently. He accused the Election Commission of failing to adequately address similar complaints during previous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
The protest march began from Makar Dwar of Parliament and proceeded towards Nirvachan Sadan, with several INDIA bloc leaders joining the demonstration and voicing their concerns over electoral roll-related matters.
The Opposition has demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner as part of its broader "Save Democracy" campaign. Under the campaign, INDIA bloc parties have organised protests and public programmes to raise concerns about the functioning of the poll panel and alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
The latest demonstration is expected to further sharpen the political confrontation between the Opposition and the Election Commission over allegations surrounding voter-list revisions and electoral transparency.
(With inputs from ANI)
