Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday alleged that the BJP has got deleted 30 lakh votes, including 15 lakh of Purvanchalis, and said he would get them added again to the city's electoral list.
However, the BJP rejected the claims of the Aam Aadmi Party, saying that fearing defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the party is "lying and trying to spread hatred among the people of Delhi through its venomous politics of religion and casteism"
Addressing a gathering in Vikas Puri here, Kejriwal also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is "always against people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar".
Dubbed as Purvanchalis, people from eastern UP and Bihar form a sizable chunk of voters in certain parts of Delhi, who play a vital role in electoral politics.
"You will be surprised to know that the BJP has got votes of 15 lakh Purvanchalis deleted across Delhi. I was told by someone that the BJP is getting votes of Muslims, Purvanchalis and Banias deleted at a large scale. Even I did not know this...
"When I got this claim probed, it was revealed that 15 lakh votes of Purvanchalis, 4 lakh of Banias and 8 lakh of Muslims deleted," Kejriwal told people at the event.
The chief minister alleged that the BJP has started the same pattern in Delhi as it did to Purvanchalis living in Mumbai and Gujarat where people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are allegedly "beaten up and forced to leave states".
"But I want to say that they (BJP) cannot touch you (Purvanchalis) in Delhi...they got votes of Banias deleted because trader community is not happy with the BJP-led central government following GST...The election commission is also of the BJP...
"I have a list of deleted votes and assure you that I would get deleted votes added to the electoral list," Kejriwal alleged.
On its part, the BJP hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party chief, rejecting his allegations.
"They (AAP) are claiming 30 lakhs votes have been deleted but on the other hand when all party meeting was held on August 31 at Delhi CEC office, two members of AAP namely Pankaj Gupta and Dilip Pandey remained tight lipped and did not raise any question regarding the deletion of voters in the electoral roll," BJP MLA Vijender Gupta Gupta alleged in a statement.
"People of Delhi are aware about the kind of petty politics Kejriwal does and will never support it.
"People of Delhi will never entertain this kind of caste politics and will give a befitting reply to the AAP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls just like they had earlier defeated them in the MCD elections," Gupta, who is also opposition leader in the Delhi Assembly, alleged in the statement.
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