Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 20 : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday demanded the immediate release of Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and others whom he claimed had been unnecessarily detained, while accusing the BJP of exerting pressure to keep them behind bars.
Yadav also urged party workers to focus on ensuring the accuracy of voter lists ahead of the upcoming electoral process and announced that the party would release its manifesto on November 26, observed as Constitution Day.
Calling for the release of those detained, Yadav alleged that their continued imprisonment was contrary to the Constitution and the law.
He said, "Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, and others who are currently imprisoned, should be released immediately; they have been detained unnecessarily. Neither our laws nor our Constitution permit this, yet the BJP is exerting pressure to keep them behind bars. As for the first question raised by one of our colleagues, the ANI is fully aware of the facts. There is compelling video evidence even in their archives showing exactly who was involved and who orchestrated these actions; they know everything. This is precisely why I mentioned that the press itself is divided... I want to tell our party workers: this battle is going to be extremely intense. The nation’s future depends on it; UP will be the one to save the country, and we, the socialists, must take on the responsibility of saving the nation. People will talk about all sorts of things, but our primary task is to ensure the voter list is accurate.”
Emphasising the importance of voter list accuracy, the SP chief said party workers must remain vigilant until the day of nominations. He also referred to the SSR process, stating that no further revisions would be possible after it concluded.
“If we fail to get the voter list right, we cannot win this fight. We must focus on securing votes and ensuring our voter list is in order. There will be no further revisions after the SSR process; no more updates will be possible. We must stay diligent and ensure the voter list remains accurate right up until the day of nominations. On 26 November, Constitution Day, we will release our party's manifesto," he said.
In a separate remark, Yadav criticised the BJP over allegations of vote theft and the functioning of the Election Commission.
He said public anger over the issues could lead to protests and credited SP workers and leaders with raising concerns about alleged errors in the poll body's procedures.
"Ek kachori, ek samosa, BJP ka koi nai bharosa (one kachori, one samosa, you can never trust the BJP)... Whenever the BJP finds itself in a tight spot, it starts levelling all sorts of accusations. People across the country have united over issues like the theft of votes and the conduct of the Election Commission. I am pleased that the workers and leaders of the Samajwadi Party did such effective work that the Election Commission was eventually forced to admit that errors had occurred in its operational procedures. When justice is denied, and no action is taken, it naturally fuels anger and outrage, leading to protests," he added.
Earlier on Monday, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken back to judicial custody from Mandir Marg Police Station in Delhi after their surety was rejected over a reported mismatch in documents, their lawyers said.
Ratna Singh, Head of Legal Affairs at CJP, criticised the proceedings, alleging that liberty was being curtailed on vague grounds despite repeated attempts to complete the surety verification process.
“A mockery was going on in the Court. For the last six days, we have been saying that one or the other reason is being nitpicked - surety verification has not been done, that an FIR has been lodged against the surety. We saw someone’s liberty being curtailed,” Singh said.
On October 12, the Delhi Police arrested Das, Ranka and others for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which has been de-notified as a designated protest venue. Following their arrest, Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody.