New Delhi: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused the Election Commission of failing to act against large-scale irregularities, including in the Uttar Pradesh elections, and alleged that officials colluded with the ruling BJP to “loot votes”.
The remarks came as opposition INDIA bloc MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Sharad Pawar, staged a march from Parliament towards the Election Commission office, accusing the body of “poll fraud” and demanding accountability. However, the MPs, protesting against voter roll revision in Bihar, were prevented from going till the poll panel’s headquarters by police who placed barricades in their way.
Addressing reporters inside the Parliament complex, Yadav said the Commission had ignored repeated complaints by his party over electoral malpractice.
“When you have so many resources available, the Election Commission and the government should have solid arrangements to ensure there is no bogus voting. The BJP is an expert in manipulating votes… When they ran short of votes, they pushed forward the police,” he alleged.
Referring to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s claim that Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Sinha had two EPIC numbers, the SP chief accused Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath of facilitating “vote loot” in his state.
Yadav also alleged that officials actively discouraged people from voting in certain constituencies, citing incidents in Ayodhya, Mirapur, and Kundarki, where he claimed commissioners, SSPs, and DMs moved with security forces to intimidate voters.
“Did we not see a revolver being aimed at women? Was the Election Commission sleeping? When officers become criminals to loot votes, who will take action?” he asked.
Yadav also took a swipe at the three-day Uttar Pradesh Assembly session, calling it unnecessary and symbolic.
“They should have conducted a three-hour session. You did no work in nine years, and now you want people to stay awake for 24 hours. What madness is this?” he said.
