New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh sajwadi party Chief Shyam Lal Pal on Tuesday wrote to the state’s chief electoral officer accusing the police of abusing their power by forcing Muslim women voters to remove their veils during the Lok Sabha elections. He said this resulted in many women leaving polling stations without voting. He argued that voter verification was solely the responsibility of polling officials, not police.
Pal further claimed that in constituencies where by-polls are going to be held, booth officials failed to distribute electoral slips in areas with a large Muslim population, leaving many people unaware of their voting details.
“Many of them left the polling stations without casting their votes. A large number of SP supporters returned without exercising their right to vote, which affected the elections and resulted in lower voter turnout at the polling stations,” the SP leader said.
“A large number of voters do not know their booth number and voter number, which affects the election. 100% distribution of voter slips must be ensured to avoid voters being deprived of their right to vote,” he added.
After Pal’s allegation, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party were at loggerheads with the Grand Old Party, which backed the Samajwadi Party’s claims, while the BJP said it was the “legitimate right” of polling officials.
Congress supports SP
Supporting Pal’s letter, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the authorities of trying to scare minority voters, saying: “The Samajwadi Party expressed its disapproval of the vote for veiled women. There should be no fear of hindrance.
He called for maximum participation of women, especially those from backward classes and minority communities, and demanded strict compliance with electoral protocols that prohibit police from checking voter ID cards.
“The ECI should ensure that even if there are women from backward classes or minorities, their votes should be maximum. The Election Commission has issued a rule that no policeman shall check the ID card of anyone and this should be fully Comply,” the congressman said.
“The legal right to remove the veil”: Giriraj Singh
Reacting to these claims, Union Minister Giriraj Singh rejected the Socialist Party’s argument that removing the veil for voter identification was legally correct. “I appeal to all election officials and NDA polling agents in Jharkhand and Maharashtra that jihadist voting based on religion should not be allowed, they should remove veil and check voters. Remove veil and see It’s legal to touch their faces,” the federal minister said.
Nine constituencies in Uttar Pradesh including Kharj, Ghaziabad and Phulpur are scheduled to go to polls on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23.
