LUCKNOW, Nov. 29 -- Reiterating his charge that the BJP government was damaging the Constitution under the pretext of the Special Intensified Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav handed over a cheque of Rs.2-lakh ex gratia to the dependents of a deceased booth-level officer (BLO) at the party headquarters in Lucknow on Saturday.

Questioning the SIR, the SP chief asked why the drive was being rushed, as it was a sensitive and arduous task. He also cited a letter from MP Rajiv Rai, which stated that the names of 20,000 voters had been deleted in the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency.

"SIR forms have not been distributed in most of the villages. Numerous complaints are coming in; I will raise this issue in...