Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Monday acknowledged the bizarre-looking names in the state voter list, stating that the Election Commission is looking into the reasons for such mistakes.
In a statement posted on X, the UP CEO said that action will be taken against the person responsible for forgery of voter slips.
The Commission has also urged media and the public to verify the information before posting on social media.
UP CEO stated, "During recently held MLC elections in UP, some bizarre-looking names appeared in the voter list. The reasons for such mistakes happening are being looked into, and appropriate action is being taken to prevent any reoccurrence. It is being informed that some forged voter slips have also become viral, which are being displayed/mentioned by many established media outlets and prominent persons. The person responsible for the forgery will be dealt with as per law."
"It is requested that before quoting/displaying/publishing as a fact anything shared by someone on social media regarding the voter list, it may be proper to verify it from the concerned officials. Our officials would promptly respond to any factual query," the statement read.
Earlier today, UP CEO acknowledged a bizarre name "Ram ne Sharma ko mara" on the voter list, while clarifying that it was a mistake and no caste-based discrimination was intended.
"In the voter list for the recent Legislative Council elections, there is also a bizarre name: 'Ram ne Sharma ko mara.' Computers/software are not casteist. It is acceptable that we made a mistake, but fortunately, even during the mistake, there was no discrimination based on caste. We must also thank God that Ram did not kill any minority. Otherwise, in addition to being casteist, there would also be an accusation of being communal," UP CEO posted.
UP CEO's statement came as a reply to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who alleged a casteist angle to such names.
"Why did Ram ultimately kill a 'Yadav' specifically? Why didn't Ram kill a Singh, Pathak, Asthana, Sharma, Rai, or Bisht? Is your computer deeply casteist?" the AAP leader wrote on X.
Amid the political stir around such bizarre names, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate wrote, "Who is running this handle @ceoup. Anyway, you folks have no special credibility left to save. The little bit of confusion that exists - this handle is clearing it up all by itself!"
In Uttar Pradesh, polling for five Graduates' constituencies, Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi, and six Teachers' constituencies, Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad was held on October 23, and the counting of votes is scheduled for October 27.