Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer’s office has apologised for a controversial remark made on its official social media account while responding to allegations of errors in voter rolls, including a comment stating, “Thank God Ram did not kill any minority.”

The poll body said the “tone and tenor” of the post were not appropriate for an official communication and acknowledged the outrage it had triggered.

“The genuine outrage generated by the comments in the post has been well noted,” the office said in its apology on Tuesday, adding that its communication would henceforth remain “decorous and formal”.

The controversy began after Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh raised questions over allegedly bizarre entries in voter slips during the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.

What triggered the controversy?

Singh highlighted alleged errors in voter records, including an entry in which the name “Ramhit Yadav” was reportedly rendered as “Ram ne Yadav ko maara”, meaning “Ram killed Yadav”.

He also cited other alleged errors, including the father’s name of a voter being listed as “B. Com.” and another voter’s name appearing as “Mohammad Iqbal bheekh maangte hain”, a phrase suggesting that Mohammad Iqbal begs for a living.

Singh questioned the accuracy of the electoral rolls and alleged that such errors raised concerns about the functioning of the election machinery.
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Poll body's controversial response

Responding to Singh’s allegations, the official account of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer said that computers and software were not casteist and that the errors did not reflect caste-based discrimination.

The post added: “We must also thank God that Ram did not kill any minority. Otherwise, in addition to being casteist, there would also be an accusation of being communal.”

The remark triggered criticism, with Singh accusing the election machinery of making inappropriate comments while holding a constitutional position.

Singh also alleged that Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa was acting as a “BJP agent” and demanded action against him. He claimed that fair elections would not be possible in the state with such an official in place.
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Poll body apologises, promises formal communication

Amid the backlash, the UP poll body acknowledged that the language used in its earlier post fell short of the standards expected of an official account.

It apologised to those who were “shocked and offended” by the remarks and said it would ensure that future communication remained polite and formal.

The apology addresses the language and tone of the controversial post, while allegations concerning errors in the voter rolls remain at the centre of the wider dispute.

The controversy comes amid Opposition criticism of the Election Commission over voter-roll revision and allegations concerning the electoral process in Uttar Pradesh.