Tejashwi again threatens poll boycott over voter list row
He said it was a matter of grave concern that the names of lakhs of poor voters were deleted from the electoral rolls, while BJP leaders allegedly managed to "procure" two voter ID cards—a lapse the
Election Commission
(EC) failed to detect during the SIR drive.
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Tejashwi said they would go to the masses in the course of the "Vote Adhikar Yatra" and assess the prevailing situation in the countryside before deciding whether they should join the poll process.
"After the yatra, we will seriously consider whether to participate in the assembly elections or not. When the EC has already decided everything, it can also be considered that we do not participate," Tejashwi said, adding it was strange that the EC is yet to reply to the issues flagged by them.
"The overall situation in the country is very strange. Neither PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar nor the chief election commissioner comes before the media to address the issues.
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This is a very dangerous situation for democracy in the country," he said, wondering if they should repeatedly rush to the court for every single issue. "The EC is behaving like Mauni Baba (a silent spectator)," he alleged.
Alleging the EC is "robbing votes" at the behest of the BJP, the RJD leader issued documents to highlight how senior BJP leader-cum-Muzaffarpur mayor Nirmala Devi also possesses two separate EPICs, quite like her two brothers-in-law.
"She has two EPIC numbers with different ages and her name figures in the electoral rolls at two different booths in the same assembly constituency in Muzaffarpur district. The EC is clearly working to help the BJP.
How did this happen? What kind of SIR is this?" Tejashwi asked.
Meanwhile, the electoral registration officer of the Muzaffarpur assembly constituency on Wednesday issued notices to Nirmala Devi and her two brothers-in-law, Manoj Kumar and Dilip Kumar, asking them to send their responses by Aug 16 before further action could be taken against them.
Tejashwi also rejected the "charisma" of the PM, alleging the BJP has clung to power by "stealing votes" of the people. "Earlier, the BJP used agencies like the ED, CBI, and IT to get votes, but now when these agencies have failed in their mission, the BJP has now indulged in 'dacoity of votes' with the help of the BJP," he alleged.
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