Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that policemen were preventing people from casting their votes as the polling was underway for nine Assembly seats in the Uttar Pradesh.
In a message on social media platform X, Akhilesh alleged the policemen were discouraging people from casting their votes. He claimed that policemen were closing roads towards polling booths at several places. He urged the Election Commission to take cognizance of the complaints and take action against officials and others involved in the threatening voters.
“If the Election Commission has any living existence then it must come alive and immediately ensure that the administration discourages voting,” Yadav shared on X.
Akhilesh said the EC must also think about extending voting time, if needed.
What Akhilesh Yadav demanded from Election Commission?
– Police should not check people’s IDs.
– Roads should not be closed.
– Voters’ IDs should not be confiscated.
– No one should be threatened with imprisonment by declaring the real ID as fake.
– The speed of voting should not be reduced.
– Time should not be wasted; voting time should be extended if necessary.
– Administration should not become a representative of power.
– Dishonest officers should be removed immediately by taking cognizance of all video recordings of election malpractices in real time.
In another message on X, Akhilesh urged the voters to come out in large numbers and cast their votes and lodge complaint with election officials if someone tries to prevent them from voting.
“Voters in Uttar Pradesh who have been stopped from voting by the police-administration should go and vote once again. The news of this election malpractice has spread everywhere. The Election Commission has also become alert and now it is giving assurance that those who have been stopped from voting should go and cast their vote once again,” said the SP chief.
What BJP said on Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations?
Reacting to the social media post by Akhilesh, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that Akhilesh Yadav and his part want to carry out fake voting and therefore they were afraid of scanning of ID proofs by the poll officials.
“Samajwadi Party wants to cast fake votes and that is why they ware objecting to the ID card checking by the elections officials. They (SP) are trying to send bogus voters behind burqas,” said BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi.
Voting is currently underway in Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki seats and will end at 5pm.
