We have immigrant CM: Akhilesh Yadav on alleged motivation behind Bihar SIR

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took a sharp jab at the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar had prompted the poll body to undergo its own version of a special review.

Speaking at Patna airport before his departure, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister remarked, "The Voter Adhikar Yatra has done an SIR of the Election Commission itself. The EC had been busy making things easy (jugaad) for the BJP, but despite that the party seems poised for a defeat in the Bihar assembly polls."

Akhilesh joined the yatra in Saran on Saturday, addressing a joint rally alongside Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Arrah and paying a visit to RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad at his residence in Patna.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, "I am confident that Tejashwi will form the next government in Bihar. I may not be in power at present, but I will try to help him by sharing my experiences."

Responding to the BJP’s criticism that the INDIA bloc is opposing the special revision of electoral rolls because it wants to protect illegal immigrant and 'foreign' voters, the SP leader retorted, "In our state, we have an immigrant (pravaasi) as the chief minister."

His remark was directed at Yogi Adityanath, originally from Uttarakhand, who settled in Gorakhpur and became head of a prominent religious institution.

RSS, migration, and China trade row also under fire

Tejashwi Yadav, standing alongside Akhilesh, took the opportunity to once again accuse the ECI of inconsistencies. "Not a single infiltrator has been shown in the electoral rolls by the EC. On the other hand, BJP leader Bhikhubhai Dalsania has been included in the voters' list here, though he hails from Gujarat," he stated.

Akhilesh also criticised the Narendra Modi government for failing to stand firm against the US, referencing the hike in tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. He also called for "a complete halt" on trade with China, invoking historical grievances including the 1962 war.

Addressing the recent controversy over alleged offensive remarks directed at PM Modi during the yatra, he commented, "Nobody condones such behaviour, but the BJP is raising the issue to divert public attention. Beware, it is a party that uses people and then destroys them."

In his Arrah speech, Akhilesh also responded sarcastically to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement about India’s unified ancestry. "We have been saying that our fight for social justice is 5,000 years old. But only recently we got to learn that it dates back 40,000 years," he said.

He added, "So, we must pull up our socks. We speak about 5,000 years of social inequality. But they (BJP-RSS) assert that the existing order is 40,000 years old. In last year's Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was beaten in Awadh (UP). It is now time to drive them out from Magadh (Bihar)."

He also alluded to the historic 1990 arrest of BJP leader L.K. Advani in Bihar, which stalled the Ram Rath Yatra and sparked decades of political rivalry between the RJD and Samajwadi Party.

Despite that history, Akhilesh strongly backed Tejashwi this time, saying, "We will cooperate fully with Tejashwi Yadav in the upcoming assembly polls. May he form the next government and take Bihar on the path to progress."

Highlighting Tejashwi’s promise of jobs, Akhilesh added, "Tejashwi has been promising jobs to Bihar's youth, which would put an end to forced migration. Let him win the Assembly polls and it would be the turn of the BJP to migrate from the state."

He further took a swipe at the Modi government, alleging hypocrisy on trade and farmer issues. "It seems the tariffs have been slapped on the mouths of the BJP as well," he said with a chuckle. "But in reality, the farmers of the country have been ruined."

With PTI inputs