SIR is ‘NRC in disguise’, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, branding it “the NRC in disguise” and accusing the BJP of plotting a quiet purge of voters who stand opposed to the ruling party.

Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, where he is attending the Vision India–AI Summit, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister warned that the exercise posed a grave threat to democracy, alleging that crores of legitimate voters could be erased from the rolls under the guise of routine verification.

“Over three crore votes are at risk of being cut in Uttar Pradesh,” Yadav claimed, arguing that the Election Commission should be focused on expanding voter participation rather than presiding over mass deletions.

“If votes are removed on such a scale — especially in constituencies where the BJP has lost — and if this is done with the Election Commission’s complicity, then it amounts to a conspiracy against democracy,” he said. “This is not the purpose of SIR.”

Doubling down on his charge, Yadav said the exercise mirrors the National Register of Citizens in all but name. “They could not implement NRC directly. Now they have brought it through the back door. The same documents are being demanded. This is NRC in the guise of SIR,” he alleged.

Yadav’s Hyderabad visit blended political outreach with a pitch for ideas. Highlighting the rapid rise of artificial intelligence across sectors — from agriculture to healthcare — he said his “Vision India” initiative seeks to chart a clear direction for what he called “Neo-India”.

“Politics should be about vision, not division,” he said, adding that the country must be guided by a forward-looking roadmap rather than polarisation.

Touching on the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, Yadav made a pointed remark, saying one of its most striking moments was that “some people who never sang Vande Mataram suddenly wanted to do so.”

Drawing parallels with past policy disruptions, he said people were being inconvenienced by the SIR in much the same way they were during demonetisation, the Covid-19 lockdowns and the rollout of the GST.

During his visit, Yadav met Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to discuss the political situation. Reddy briefed him on his government’s development and welfare initiatives, according to an official release.

Yadav praised Reddy’s decision to recognise ‘Sadar’, a festival celebrated by the Yadav community in Hyderabad, as a state festival, saying the community would “always remember” the chief minister for the move.

Later, the Samajwadi Party chief met BRS working president K T Rama Rao and other party leaders. Speaking after the meeting, Yadav said negativity in politics must give way to progress, and revealed that he had also spoken to BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and would meet him soon.

Rama Rao said the BRS draws inspiration from the Samajwadi Party’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where it won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh despite being out of power.

Yadav had announced the launch of the party’s new national programme, “Vision India”, on 11 November. He closed by praising India’s youth, describing them as progressive, tolerant and inclusive — and as a generation that rejects politics rooted in division.

With PTI inputs