An apparently ‘cheeky’ reply by Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa regarding the issue of a bizarre name in the voter list raised by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders has drawn sharp criticism from Opposition leaders.
Why didn’t Ram kill a Singh, Pathak, Asthana, Sharma, Rai, or Bisht? Is your computer deeply casteist? The UP CEO also posted a photo of a voter slip of one Ravi Sharma, enrolled in the voter list for the Legislative Council election for the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduate constituency, in which ‘Ram ne Sharma ko maara’ is mentioned in the father’s name column. The CEO of UP’s job is to ensure fair elections, not to sit in a government position and make communal taunts.”
In a post on X, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday drew the UP CEO’s attention to the issue raised by party leader Rajesh Yadav concerning the bizarre name “Ram ne Yadav ko maara” in the voter list for the Legislative Council election for the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduate constituency. “Why did Ram ultimately kill a “Yadav” specifically? Are you pushing some party’s agenda? @rajeshyadavaap’s question was valid,” Singh said. Replying to Shrinate, the UP CEO said the Election Commission of India has issued instructions to limit statements to facts only, using restrained language in every case, without unnecessary comments. Another said, “Look at the level of the Election Commission’s official handle—such a massive error in the voter list, and instead of providing clarification, they directly drag in minorities for political jabs.
