The Janata Dal (United) has issued a show-cause notice to its MP Giridhari Yadav after he publicly criticised the ongoing revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a “Tughlaqi farman” or an arbitrary order, The Indian Express reported.

The Janata Dal (United), headed by Nitish Kumar, is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

The show-cause notice, issued by the party’s national general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan, stated that Yadav’s remarks came at a time when certain opposition parties were trying to discredit the Election Commission by raising doubts about electronic voting machines and the electoral process, ANI reported.

The notice said that JD(U) has always stood by the poll body, both when it was part of the INDIA Opposition alliance and now as a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

“In this context, your public comments on such a sensitive matter, especially in an election year, not only cause embarrassment to the party but also inadvertently lend credibility to baseless and politically motivated allegations made by the opposition,” the notice added.

The Janata Dal (United) asked Yadav to respond within 15 days, saying that it could take disciplinary action against him if he fails to do so.

Speaking outside Parliament on Wednesday, the Banka MP said the poll body has “no practical knowledge” of the history of Bihar and has “forcefully imposed” the revision of electoral rolls on the state’s residents.

Yadav clarified that the statement was his personal opinion. “It took 10 days for me to collect all of my documents,” the MP told ANI. “My son stays in America. How will he do the signatures in just a month?”

He said that at least six months should have been given for the electoral roll revision.

The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24.

As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of eligibility to vote. This means that 2.9 crore out of the state’s 7.8 crore voters – or about 37% of the electors – will have to submit documentary evidence.

Voters born before July 1, 1987, must show proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must also submit documents establishing the date and place of birth of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will need proof of date of birth for themselves and both parents.

If the officers are satisfied with the details provided, the voters will be re-enrolled to a new voter list by electoral registration officers. If not, they will be removed from the voter lists.

On July 2, eleven INDIA bloc parties told the Election Commission that the special intensive revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls risked disenfranchising more than 2.5 crore voters, as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on July 6 defended the exercise, claiming that the exercise had to be carried out as no one was satisfied with the current voter rolls.

Opposition leaders in the Bihar Assembly have been protesting against the ongoing exercise and demanding a discussion on it.

On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha also witnessed a ruckus over the exercise, with Opposition MPs shouting slogans in both Houses and demanding a rollback of the decision to review electoral rolls.

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