Lucknow, Oct 30 Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said he would participate in the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally in Delhi over alleged electoral irregularities and the demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“We will go (to Delhi) on November 1. We will also participate in the rally,” Yadav said at a presser.
The rally to be led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Ramlila Maidan is part of the opposition bloc’s campaign against “vote chori” and alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The INDIA bloc will also hold a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar on Saturday. The event was scheduled for Friday but was postponed due to rain in the national capital.
Segueing into his sarcastic style, Yadav also called for “better-quality” photographs on voter ID cards, saying the pictures in electoral rolls were often so unclear that one could not recognise a person.
“Today every person wants to have a good photograph taken. Everyone has a mobile phone with a camera – some have two, or even three. But look at the photographs on the voter list. The pictures are such that one person cannot recognise another,” Yadav said.
“Who is stopping them from printing better photographs?” he asked, moving to a serious tone.
The SP chief said voter lists needed comprehensive revision and suggested using biometric identification to improve their accuracy, pointing out that biometric machines were available at the gram sabha level and were already being used in schools to record teachers’ attendance.
“When technology and biometric facilities are available, why don’t the Election Commission use them to improve voter lists?” he asked.
Yadav also demanded that the Election Commission use technology for voter identification on polling day, and accused BJP workers of arranging fake Aadhaar cards during elections.
Aadhaar cards should be made of metal to prevent their duplication, the SP chief said.
Referring to alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, Yadav cited cases involving Nand Lal Nishad and Dashrath in Lucknow’s Sarojini Nagar Assembly constituency.
He alleged that forged signatures had been used to submit forms and that multiple forms, including 135 in Dashrath’s name, had been filed.
Official action was initiated after the alleged irregularities came to light, he said.
Asked if he wanted elections using electronic voting machines or the traditional ballot paper system, the former chief minister said, “Even if we win all 80 Vidhan Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, we will go for the ballot system only.”
Stating that developed countries like Germany and the US use the ballot system, he said that in today’s times, there are technologies that can help count ballot votes quickly.
“You have learnt to eat burgers like Americans, dress like them, so why not adopt the better electoral policies from the US,” Yadav said.
The SP had been raising concerns about manipulation of voter lists since 2022, he said, adding that the party submitted thousands of affidavits to the Election Commission about people who voted in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but were unable to cast their votes in the 2022 Assembly elections.
Yadav also referred to an initiative undertaken by the previous SP government in collaboration with the Tata Group in 2016 to strengthen the public distribution system through digital platforms and Aadhaar-enabled electronic point-of-sale devices at fair price shops in Lucknow.
“Ratan Tata had come to Lucknow for that launch,” Yadav said.
He also alleged that cybercrime cases were rising in Uttar Pradesh, expressing concern over data security.
“Students and their parents are being asked to submit their details on apps, which is unnecessary as they could be misused,” Yadav said.
(PTI News)
