'People might take to streets': Akhilesh's dire warning on vote chori row; points to Nepal unrest

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the Election Commission and the government of enabling what he called "vote theft," warning that India could witness Nepal-like street protests if such practices are not checked.Akhilesh in a press conference in Lucknow said, "It's the Election Commission's responsibility to ensure that no vote is stolen anywhere... Everyone knows that when they couldn't win elections through vote theft, they tried to stop the vote with the power of a revolver... If such incidents happen, it's possible that people here might take to the streets, just like what happened in our neighbouring countries." The SP leader referred to instances in past Uttar Pradesh polls. "They posted their own caste members, and at that time, were all those presiding officers and election officials not appointed from the chief minister’s own community?" He alleged that officials were appointed on caste considerations. "The DM and SP not given such instructions? Think about it, we kept complaining... they claimed 77 percent of the votes."Akhilesh further cited specific examples. "You saw the Rampur election... they snatched the election. The Mirapur election. And in the Ayodhya election, a person was caught who was a minister's associate. Around 5,000 people had come there, just think about the Ayodhya election. They were brought from outside. People were brought from Amethi."Linking his remarks to the ongoing unrest in Nepal, Yadav said, "If such robbery of votes happens, then just as people came onto the streets in neighbouring countries, it is possible that people here too will be seen on the streets."