: The publication of the draft electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process has triggered sharp political reactions across parties in Uttar Pradesh with the Opposition questioning the impartiality of the process and the ruling BJP defending it.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief spokesperson and former Uttar Pradesh minister Rajendra Chaudhary alleged that the ruling party got the voter list amended to its advantage.
“There have been anomalies in the SIR process which deprived voters of their rights. The ruling party ensured their supporters remained on the list, and the extension of time in the SIR was granted for this purpose. The process is not unbiased. Our PDA Praharis have done a commendable job and will continue their work at the booth level till the elections,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai strongly criticised the exercise.
“The SIR was an unconstitutional and hurried exercise conducted in Uttar Pradesh that even claimed the lives of several staff involved in voter list revision work,” Rai said.
BJP state unit spokesperson Hero Bajpai defended the process, stating that the deletions were necessary to maintain accuracy.
{{/usCountry}}BJP state unit spokesperson Hero Bajpai defended the process, stating that the deletions were necessary to maintain accuracy.
{{/usCountry}}“The Election Commission has removed missing names from the voters’ list. This shows that the entire exercise was carried out in a fair manner,” Bajpai said.
BSP state unit president Vishwanath Pal said party chief Mayawati would issue a detailed response on the SIR process and the reported deletion of 28.9 million voters. He added that Mayawati had earlier directed party leaders and workers to ensure that eligible voters from weaker sections of society were included in the draft rolls.