A controversy has erupted with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) of communalising the electoral atmosphere in the final hours ahead of state Assembly by-polls slated for November 20, after the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Shyam Lal Pal wrote to the Election Commission (EC) regarding Muslim women voters.
BJP termed it a fresh attempt at polarising the minority community and said that the gameplan of theirs stands exposed now, while RJD sought to put the ball in PM's court.
Shyam Lal Pal, the SP UP chief, in his letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday, urged that the poll panel should issue directions to its officers and police personnel that they won't remove Muslim women's burqas for identity verification during voting.
The issue stirred a political storm.
BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said this was just an effort to split the community down religious lines.
"This is what you will hear when fake voters and pseudo-secular voices will be exposed," he remarked.
Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha chose to skirt direct answers on the controversial letter and said that it was incumbent upon the Prime Minister to take a call.
"It is happening in every part of the country. Much depends on PM Modi as to how he wants to build this country. It is sad to see such differentiation taking place. As a PM of our country, he should treat everyone equally," Jha said.
To the Election Commission: Pal's letter demands that the Returning Officers, the District Magistrates, and all the law enforcement officers be issued a directive, clearly defining that only the polling officers are supposed to check voter IDs.
SP leader said that the worth mentioning incident came in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Muslim women voters who were supposed to be in support of SP were allegedly forced to remove veils by policemen. Pal claims that it instilled fear among voters and resulted in many not coming out to cast their ballot.
Many SP supporters, especially Muslim women, left polling stations without voting due to the discomfort and intimidation they faced, he wrote.
This follows the November 20 by-elections where nine seats of Uttar Pradesh, including Meerapur, Kundarki, and Ghaziabad, will go to the polls.
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