'Big conspiracy' against people: Akhilesh Yadav on SIR exercise

Lucknow: SP president Akhilesh Yadav has made a fresh attack on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying it was a "big conspiracy" against the people of the country that could push citizens into a state "worse than the colonial era."

Posting a 20-second video on the SIR process on his official X handle on Thursday evening, Yadav appealed to all opposition parties, including allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to "unite and expose this mega-conspiracy of the BJP."

Attacking the roll revision exercise, he charged, "This is a fraud with democracy. People must stay alert. Today votes are being cut, tomorrow names will be removed from land records, ration cards, caste certificates, reservations, and later even from bank accounts and lockers of the middle-class."

In a detailed post, the SP chief said, "This is a major conspiracy against the people of this country which will lead to a situation far worse than the colonial era. This is the time to wake up and protect every single vote."

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister warned that parties currently supporting the BJP would be the "first to be finished," and called on citizens to "drop everything and stop the fraud taking place under SIR."

Accusing the BJP, its allies, the state government, and "some corrupt officials in the Election Commission" of attempting to take over the entire electoral system, Yadav said, "Let us unite to save the country from the open loot by BJP leaders and their allies, and to save our identity represented through our vote. Otherwise, tomorrow they will declare themselves as outsiders."

The SIR exercise is underway in nine states and three Union territories.

The Election Commission (EC) said its booth-level officers (BLOs) have fanned out to hand over semi-filled enumeration forms to electors and will also help them fill the required document.