Lucknow: UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ on Thursday accused BJP of using its ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ campaign to defend chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and divert attention from alleged large-scale voter deletions during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Mishra alleged that around 3.31 crore voters were missing from the revised rolls.Citing the state’s estimated population of 25.70 crore and local body electoral rolls, she claimed UP should have around 16.70 crore voters against 13.39 crore left after the SIR exercise.She said the local body rolls had 16.77 crore voters, including 8.89 crore men and 7.87 crore women.“According to the chief minister’s own population estimate, the state should have over 16 crore voters. How did the number come down to around 13 crore after SIR?” she asked.Mishra also referred to concerns reportedly raised by the chief minister at a party meeting, including 66 lakh people listed in panchayat rolls but missing from assembly rolls, 55 lakh beneficiaries of govt schemes not appearing in the electoral rolls and around 4.5 lakh young voters aged 18 and 19 yet to be enrolled.Questioning the participation of senior BJP leaders in the campaign, she said party president Nitin Nabin, former president and Union ministers JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Amit Shah had joined its programmes in different parts of the country.Mishra alleged that the campaign was aimed at supporting the chief election commissioner rather than protecting democracy.Referring to a statement by Dr BR Ambedkar in Constituent Assembly on June 16, 1949, she stressed the need for safeguards to ensure the independence of Election Commission.She said Congress, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, would continue its campaign against alleged “vote chori” and fight to protect electoral rights.
