Tejashwi Yadav questions special voter list revision in Bihar, alleges attempt to "exclude poor voters"

Patna (Bihar) [India], June 27 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav has questioned the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special revision of the voter list in Bihar months ahead of the assembly elections.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Yadav questioned the timing and feasibility of the exercise and alleged that the move is an attempt to bar the poor people from voting and manipulate the voter list.
"The Election Commission has announced a special revision of the voter list in Bihar... This means that the voter list of 8 crore Biharis have been sidelined and a new list will be generated. Why is this being done 2 months before the elections? Is it possible to develop the voters' list for eight crore people within 25 days?... The documents demanded are such that the poor may not even have them," he said.
Yadav raised concerns about the documentation process and claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scared, and that's why they are taking such steps.
"The documents demanded are such that the poor may not even have them... Our delegation will approach the election commission regarding this matter. CM Nitish Kumar and PM Modi are scared... They want the names of the poor to be removed from the voter list... They want to snatch the right to vote from the poor section of society," said the RJD leader.
Highlighting the challenges of conducting such a massive exercise during the monsoon season, Yadav noted that 73 per cent of Bihar is flood-prone.
"As monsoon is about to begin and a total of 73 per cent area of Bihar is flood-prone, so the question that arises is whether people will safeguard their life and assets or will provide documents to the election commission?" he asked.
These developments came ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar, expected to take place later this year. Months ahead of the elections, the battle has been intensifying between the grand alliance Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD and Congress and the ruling NDA, which includes BJP, JUD, LJP (Ram Vilas) and HAM. (ANI)