TNN
Lucknow : Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged that changes being introduced in Forms 6 and 7 of the electoral registration process were aimed at facilitating the inclusion of bogus voters in electoral rolls.
Referring to the CM’s reported claim that 1.27 crore Hindu voters had been removed from electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh , Yadav questioned the source of the data and asked how the information had reached the chief minister’s office. He also questioned figures cited by chief minister Yogi Adityanath regarding voter deletions during the SIR exercise. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused BJP of conspiring to malign his party through a misinformation campaign, allegedly spending crores of rupees on false publicity.
Addressing party workers and leaders, Akhilesh said the proposed changes could adversely affect genuine voters while making it easier to manipulate electoral rolls. “Changes are being brought in Forms 6 and 7 so that bogus votes can be increased,” he alleged. “When your name is not on the voter list, there is also a risk that your citizenship could be questioned after the SIR,” he said. “The EC must restore public confidence by proving its impartiality and maintaining independence from political influence,” the former CM said. The SP president said his party would closely monitor the electoral process during the upcoming Assembly elections.
He cautioned that deletion of a person’s name from the voter list could lead to complications in the future. The SP chief urged party workers to remain patient and courteous while interacting with the public. He advised them not to fall for what he described as BJP ’s politics of provocation. He also accused BJP and Election Commission of manipulating voter lists.