BJP attacks Kejriwal over voter list row

Questions silence of AAP leaders

The BJP on Monday renewed its ‘strong condemnation’ of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s allegations of the removal of over 30 lakh names in the electoral rolls in Delhi.

Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta reiterated questions regarding the silence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) representatives Dilip Pandey and Pankaj Gupta at an all-party meeting held by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi on the issue in August this year.

The leader also argued that the AAP needed to substantiate its allegations with the period during which the alleged deletion occurred.

AAP’s claims

On their part, Aam Aadmi Party sources claimed they did not flag concerns then because the issue of the deletion of names in electoral rolls surfaced only recently when the party began the process of groundwork for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. On Monday,

The Hindu reported on the lack of clarity reining among voters whose names had been struck off electoral rolls as political parties sparred over the issue.

“Mr. Kejriwal is trying to mislead the people again and again on the issue...On August 31, CEO Delhi had convened a meeting with representatives of all recognised national and State-level political parties regarding the special summary revision of electoral rolls in Delhi...why did AAP representatives Dilip Pandey and Pankaj Gupta...not raise the issue then?” the Leader of the Opposition demanded.

“The head of the AAP should also disclose the period during which more than 30 lakh names, which are being claimed to have been removed from electoral rolls, deleted...In the meeting, the CEO had also informed that it was not necessary that those who have voter identity cards are eligible to vote. They will have right to vote only if their names were present in the electoral roll,” Mr. Gupta argued.

Conviction of AAP

If the AAP had ‘conviction’ and was certain that the names of voters, in large numbers, had been removed from the electoral rolls, they should have brought this fact to the notice of the CEO.

The Rohini legislator argued further, it was also necessary to ask whether the names of over 30 lakh voters in the electoral roll of Delhi were removed after 31 August, 2018.

Meanwhile, AAP sources claimed the party noticed the large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls while laying the foundation of groundwork for campaigning related to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and various options, including taking the matter to the judiciary, were on the table in the immediate future.