Ashok Choudhary Responds to Opposition’s Uproar in Bihar Assembly Over Duplicate Aadhaar and Voter List Controversy

The Bihar Assembly’s monsoon session is witness to high drama as opposition parties continue to create a ruckus regarding the SIR (Special Investigation Report) issue. The opposition has been accused of disrupting house proceedings and even staging walkouts, making it impossible for legislative activities to function smoothly.

Earlier today, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav addressed a press conference, lashing out at Ashok Choudhary, Bihar’s Minister, and raising questions about recent events involving Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha and Choudhary himself. In response, Ashok Choudhary directly confronted the allegations and clarified the government’s stance.

Choudhary explained, “There has been an attempt to create confusion regarding the voter list and Aadhaar cards. In several districts, the number of Aadhaar cards is higher than the total number of voters, which clearly points towards the creation of duplicate or forged Aadhaar cards. The Election Commission is only trying to ensure that no genuine voters are excluded from the list and that no ineligible names are added. It’s a matter of a month or so, and once the updated voter list is released, people will see that no valid name is missing.”

Addressing concerns raised by his own party’s MP, Girdhari Yadav, who claimed that document verification took him ten days and posed difficulties for his son studying in the US, Choudhary said, “There’s still time for everyone to complete their documentation. The Election Commission is not acting with any malice to deliberately remove names.”

On the opposition’s accusation that names from certain castes are being deliberately erased, Choudhary said, “Why would names of specific communities be removed? This is neither NRC nor any exclusionary exercise. India’s constitution and courts ensure that no genuine citizen’s name can be removed. Anyone wrongly excluded can present their documents and get rectified.”

Choudhary further differentiated between argument and conflict, saying, “Unlike in the RJD, differences of opinion in NDA do not mean personal conflict. Democracy allows for disagreement without enmity.”

On the topic of the opposition questioning the neutrality of the Election Commission from within the Assembly, Choudhary commented, “If you have complaints against the Election Commission, go to their office and protest. Why disrupt the Assembly proceedings and prevent ministers from answering questions?”

Responding to repeated concerns about the Dalit community’s disenfranchisement, Choudhary asserted, “No one should be worried about the Dalits’ rights under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. He has done more for the political participation of marginalized and backward classes than anyone else.”

As to the point of the matter being sub-judice in the Supreme Court, Choudhary dismissed the opposition’s protests as mere attempts to create confusion. “The issues in their hands are being ignored, and they are creating controversies over matters already in the court’s purview,” he said.

To conclude, Ashok Choudhary reinforced that the opposition lacks real issues and is manufacturing controversies for political mileage.

Reporting from Patna, this is Daksha Priya with cameraman Shashi for Darsh News.