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Akhilesh warns of protests over ‘missing’ names in UP voters’ list
Yadav said SP’s state president Naresh Uttam Patel led a party delegation that met Uttar Pradesh’s chief election officer and gave him a memorandum over the matter.
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Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that 2.1 million new names have been added and over 1.6 million removed from voters lists ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, and warned of sit-in protests in Delhi and Lucknow, if their concerns were not addressed.
Yadav said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not given the lists to the political parties to cross-check, unlike until before the 2019 national elections. “ECI then gave lists to the political parties, then why not this time?” he asked at a press conference called on the fifth anniversary of the demonetisation of high-value currency notes in 2016.
Yadav said SP’s state president Naresh Uttam Patel led a party delegation that met Uttar Pradesh’s chief election officer and gave him a memorandum over the matter. “We will give a memorandum in Delhi (to ECI) also and if needed sit on sit-ins.”
Stating that “senior officials in EC are from UP”, Yadav said he hoped his party will be given a hearing and the poll body would act in an unbiased manner.
Earlier in the day, Yadav celebrated the birthday of Khajanchi, who was born shortly after his mother queued up in Kanpur Dehat to get her demonetised currency notes exchanged on December 2, 2016.
Yadav said the BJP should celebrate Khajanchi’s birthday. “Demonetisation was done deliberately to trouble people.”
Later, Yadav also launched a specially made “Samajwadi perfume”, hoping to spread the “scent of socialism” in the state. “When you use it, you will feel the ‘sugandh of samajwad’, brotherhood, love and amity.”
