Patna, June 30 (IANS) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav on Monday targeted the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its ongoing voter list revision exercise, calling it a “clear conspiracy” against the poor people of the state. LoP Yadav also raised concerns about the timing of the initiative and pointed out that the ECI plans to complete the entire exercise within 25 days.
Speaking to media persons in Bihar’s Jamui district, Yadav said, “Under the voter list revision initiative, the ECI is demanding documents that 90 per cent of people in Bihar do not have. They are asking for the birth certificates of their parents, which is impossible for the majority as they don’t have them. It may be possible for some to provide matriculation certificates, but if a person has not appeared for or passed matriculation, how can they prove they are residents of Bihar?”
He further questioned why the ECI is not accepting Aadhaar cards and MNREGA cards as proof of identity.
“Interestingly, the same Election Commission had earlier announced that it would link voter cards with Aadhaar cards to detect bogus voters. Now, they are not accepting Aadhaar cards, and many people don’t even have them,” Yadav said.
Tejashwi Yadav also raised concerns about the timing of the initiative, pointing out that the ECI plans to complete the entire exercise within 25 days, just before the Bihar Assembly elections this year.
“This is impossible, especially when many areas in Bihar are flood-affected during the monsoon. A person struggling with floods cannot go around preparing documents to prove their residency in Bihar and India,” he said.
Taking a direct jibe at the BJP, Yadav said, “BJP leaders are claiming that this ECI initiative will detect bogus voters. I want to ask them if the same voter list was used during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Does this mean the NDA won on the basis of bogus voters? If that is the case, then Prime Minister Modi should resign from his post.”
–IANS
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