SIR is NRC in disguise: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) being carried out in Uttar Pradesh is “NRC in disguise,” calling it a part of a larger conspiracy to remove voters opposed to the BJP.

Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, where he attended the Vision India – AI Summit on Saturday, Yadav urged the Election Commission to prioritize boosting voter participation instead of facilitating large-scale deletions. He claimed that over three crore voter names are at risk of being struck off from the rolls in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to a question about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Yadav said the government claims that Uttar Pradesh has a population of about 25 crore, but the BJP is attempting to delete nearly three crore voter names through the SIR process. He alleged that improper use of technology is leading to the loss of many votes and accused the BJP of undertaking this exercise to gain electoral advantage in states like Uttar Pradesh.

He called the SIR process “NRC in disguise,” claiming that the government is demanding the same set of documents as those required for the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Since it cannot directly implement NRC, he alleged, the government is using the SIR process to achieve the same objective. Yadav said that even booth-level officers have not been adequately trained, creating several ground-level challenges. He asserted that it is the Election Commission’s responsibility to ensure people’s right to vote not to delete their names. He reaffirmed that the Samajwadi Party will continue to be a part of the INDIA alliance.

"More than three crore votes are at risk of being cut in Uttar Pradesh. If such large-scale vote removal happens, and if the BJP and the Election Commission are conspiring to delete votes where the BJP has lost, it amounts to a conspiracy in democracy. This is not the intended purpose of the SIR. This is not SIR. This is NRC in the guise of SIR. They could not directly implement the NRC. Now they have brought NRC. If the NRC is ever implemented, what documents have to be given? The same papers have to be presented," he said.

Akhilesh Yadav also said his party would use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He asserted that the SP opposes divisive politics and that its Vision India initiative aims to counter such tendencies. He added that the party believes only in positive, developmental, and progressive politics.

Akhilesh Yadav attended the Vision India Summit organized by the Samajwadi Party in Hyderabad on Saturday. The summits, being held across major cities, aim to create awareness among the youth about the role of technology in governance and its potential to transform the future. The first summit was organized in Bengaluru, and the second in Hyderabad.