'Just Like Urine...': Tejashwi Yadav Rubbishes Poll Body Sources' Illegal Voters Claim In Bihar
Tejashwi Yadav dismissed claims by Election Commission sources about illegal immigrants in Bihar's electoral rolls, calling them baseless.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday triggered a political slugfest after he rubbished the claims of Election Commission of India's sources of finding a large number of illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls of Bihar during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and said that he considers such 'sutras" (sources) as 'mutra" (urine).
While addressing a press conference on Sunday, the Bihar Leader of Opposition was asked about the possible presence of foreign illegal migrants in electoral rolls as revealed by the poll body.
On this, Tejashwi Yadav asked the reporter about the origin of the news. The journalist then can be heard saying 'sources" to his query.
Tejashwi then replied, ' hum wo sutra (sources) ko mutra (urine) samajhte hain… iska koi adhaar nai hai. (We consider these sources as urine, waste)"
Later in a post on X, He questioned the credibility of sources making such claims, likening them to rumors about Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore being captured during India's military strikes on Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.
'The Election Commission, instead of coming forward itself, is getting news planted through sources so that it can play its game under this cover. These are the same sources that had captured Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi during Operation Sindoor,' he later said in a post on X.
The RJD leader also cast doubts over the EC's claim that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar was progressing at a brisk pace and would be completed before the July 25 deadline.
He also claimed that if even one per cent of voters are left out during the verification process, nearly 7.9 lakh voters across the state could lose their right to vote. 'This means around 3,251 voters could be removed in each assembly seat," he said.
He pointed out that during the last election, RJD lost 52 seats by margins of just around 5,000 votes. 'If 3,200 votes are cut in each assembly, it can make a big difference," news agency ANI quoted Tejashwi as saying.
The EC seems to be playing with figures to give a false impression that it has been undertaking this exercise competently, he alleged.
'We have received complaints that booth-level officers (BLOs) are under pressure to achieve targets and they are ending up collecting enumerating forms without getting those duly signed and filled up by the voters concerned," he added.
BJP Reacts
The BJP slammed the RJD leader for his controversial comments saying that since Tejashwi is not educated, the people at his home make him memorise whatever they want, and he just repeats it.
'…Only Tejashwi Yadav can make such comments about media personnel or any human being in general. The problem with Tejashwi Yadav is that he is not educated, which is why the people at his home make him memorise whatever they want, and he just repeats it. But if someone asks him a question outside of that, he will create this kind of mess…," BJP leader Sanjay Jaiswal said as quoted by news agency ANI.
Jaiswal further demanded that Tejashwi should publicly apologise, express regret, and take an oath that he will not say anything beyond what he is taught at home.
What ECI Sources Claimed?
The ECI BLOs have found a significant number of individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar possessing Indian documents such as Aadhaar, domicile certificates, and ration cards during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, sources said.
Sources said that a thorough verification will be carried out between August 1 and 30, and any names found ineligible will be excluded from the final voter list set to be published on September 30. 'During house-to-house visits for SIR in Bihar, a large number of people from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have been found by BLOs. These persons have been able to procure all documents including Aadhaar, domicile certificate, ration card," they said.
While announcing the SIR process, the ECI had said that it was necessary due to a number of reasons, including inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants in the current list.
(With inputs from agencies)
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July 13, 2025, 21:34 IST
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