UP Election Body Apologises Over ‘Ram Didn’t Kill Any Minority’ Remark After Voter Slip Error

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer’s office on Tuesday apologised for the tone and language of a controversial comment made in response to an error in a voter list. The controversy began after an incorrect entry involving the name ‘Ramhit Yadav’ triggered criticism from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh.

Voter List Error Triggers Political Row

The controversy came in the wake of ‘Ramhit Yadav’ being allegedly included in the voter list for the recent Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council polls under the name ‘Ram ne Yadav ko Maara’.

Reacting to the mistake, Sanjay Singh questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on social media, asking why the error appeared to target a particular caste.

In a post on X, the AAP leader asked whether the computer system was casteist and accused the Election Commission of potentially pursuing the agenda of a political party. He also questioned why similar errors had not appeared against surnames such as Singh, Pathak, Asthana, Sharma, Rai and Bisht.

UP CEO’s Office Cites Another Error

Responding to Singh’s allegations, the office of Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa pointed to another instance in which a voter’s father’s name was allegedly recorded incorrectly as ‘Ram ne Sharma ko Maara’ (Ram hit Sharma).

The office cited the second example to argue that the mistakes were errors in the voter list rather than evidence of caste-based discrimination.

However, the poll body later apologised for the tone and language used in its response, amid growing criticism over the remark.

Controversy Comes Amid SIR Protests

The row has emerged at a time when the Election Commission is facing protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The controversy has added to the scrutiny surrounding the poll body and its handling of voter-list-related issues.