Samajwadi Party moves EC, says Yogi govt shunted out Muslim and Yadav booth-level officers from key posts

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party approached the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday accusing the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government of shunting out Muslim and Yadav officers from key posts and from the list of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) involved in election-related assignments in Assembly bypoll-bound districts.

A delegation of senior Rajya Sabha MPs Ramgopal Yadav and Javed Ali Khan met the EC and handed over a memorandum detailing their claims against the government. There will be bypolls to ten Assembly seats in UP where MLAs have resigned after being elected to Lok Sabha in June.

"In Uttar Pradesh, by-elections are going to take place and in these Assembly constituencies and districts, the state govt has removed most of the police and civil administration officials who belong to the Yadav and Muslim communities because most of our supporters are from these communities. Similar is the case of BLOs who help in preparing the electoral rolls," Yadav told reporters after the meeting.

He claimed there is not a single Muslim or Yadav in the final list of BLOs. He said the delegation shared the list of BLOs assigned for Assembly and Lok Sabha election as well as the draft and final lists for the bypolls.

There is only one Muslim is in the list as it appeared that the government could not ascertain his religion from his name, Yadav claimed. He said the EC has promised to look into their complaint.

In the memorandum, the SP leaders said that the ruling party is indulging in efforts to vitiate free and fair process in the bypolls, which is guaranteed by the EC.

"In districts and seats where bypolls are scheduled, there will be no Muslim or Yadav officials on election duty. This has been reported in print and electronic media," the memorandum signed by Yadav, Khan and Lok Sabha MP Dharmendra Yadav said.

Emphasising that the BLOs have a role in increasing the voter turnout, the memorandum said the appointment of BLOs are being done on the basis of caste and religion.

"Almost all Muslim and Yadav BLOs who were appointed earlier have been removed from the list and in their place, officers from the communities that support the ruling party have been appointed," it claimed.