LUCKNOW, Sept. 19 -- Sitapur district magistrate Abhishek Anand on Thursday denied accusations of discrimination after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was targeting the poor and marginalised by suspending ration cards. Anand said the action - which has put benefits for 4.95 lakh beneficiaries on hold for three months - was part of a state-wide drive to update records through the mandatory "Know Your Customer' (KYC) process, ensuring subsidies reach only the genuinely needy. Earlier on Thursday, the SP chief in a post on X claimed: "We had already warned - first they'll remove names from the voter list, then from ration cards, and then from house and land records. If BJP stays, your rights go away!" Sitapur food and civil supply officer Akhilesh Srivastava said, "There is nothing political in it. Sitapur has a total of 8,89,323 registered ration cardholders, out of which 3,94,197 beneficiaries are currently availing ration from fair price shops. During the state-mandated verification campaign, it was found that a large number of cardholders had not submitted their KYC details, despite repeated notices." "This initiative is part of a larger effort to ensure that ration reaches only the deserving households," Srivastava said. "The suspended beneficiaries can restore their access to ration by completing their KYC within the stipulated time," he added. The district administration has clarified that around 42,000 names belonged to deceased individuals and 9,122 others were residing and working abroad. The rest are under review for discrepancies such as duplication, migration, or fake documentation. Additionally, as many as 15,376 ration cardholders, who were income tax payers, voluntarily surrendered their cards. Of them, 9,844 individuals had filed income tax returns exceeding Rs 2 lakh and 5,532 had declared incomes above Rs 3 lakh. Officials clarified that the suspension is not permanent and is strictly procedural - aimed at updating records. "Only those ration cards which were found to be ineligible or unverifiable during the physical verification process have been temporarily suspended," a senior Sitapur official stated....