Make general strike on July 9 a success, leaders of All Party Trade Unions urge people
Condemning the 'pro-corporate' and 'anti-worker' policies of the Union government, the speakers alleged that 29 labour laws were amended and four labour codes were brought out to the detriment of the workers. They said, if these labour codes were implemented, the workers would lose their right to strike, right to form a trade union and their primary right to bargain for a fair wage.
They noted that the general strike was being held to demand fixation of minimum wage for workers at ₹26,000, withdrawal of the plan to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP), taking back the 4,000 contract workers, who were terminated from service in VSP, against privatisation of public sector LIC, banks, ports and airports, oil PSUs, defence, space and mines. They also sought bringing out a comprehensive Act to provide PF, ESI and insurance to unorganised sector workers like auto drivers, muta workers, pushcart vendors and motor workers. They also demanded filling up of the vacancies in government and public sector organisations. The speakers demanded that the minimum pension for EPS pensioners be fixed at ₹9,000 and a comprehensive Act be brought out to protect the interests of domestic workers.
They said that as a run up to the general strike, from June 25 to 30, workers would distribute pamphlets at their work spots and in residential colonies to create awareness among the general public on the need to make the strike a success. Gate meetings would be held at all industries from July 1 to 4. A bike rally would be held in the city on July 5, and in the industrial area on July 7. A rally would be held from Dondaparthy to the Gandhi statue, near GVMC, where a public meeting would be held on July 9.
A poster on the All India General Strike on July 9 was released on the occasion. AITUC district president M. Manmadha Rao, INTUC district secretary Eswara Rao, CFTUI All India president N. Kanaka Rao, IFTUI State secretary M. Venkateswarlu, APFTU district secretary K. Deva, Public Sector Coordination Committee convener K.M. Srinivas, co-conveners Jyothiswara Rao and Kumara Mangalam, and AITUC senior leader Sk. Rahaman were among those who participated.
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Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Produce evidence or withdraw remarks: CEC to Rahul Gandhi on voter fraud claims
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation of 'vote chori', terming it as a 'baseless' charge that misleads the public and undermines faith in the Constitution. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addresses a press conference on Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), at the National Media Centre in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI) 'Produce evidence of voter fraud or withdraw your remarks. There is no third option,' Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said at a press conference in Delhi, giving Gandhi a one-week deadline and asserting that the poll body would not be cowed by political attacks The press conference —first since the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls was ordered— was also attended by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. 'When politics is being done by targeting the voters of India by keeping a gun on the shoulder of the Election Commission, today the Election Commission wants to make it clear to everyone that the Election Commission fearlessly stood like a rock with all the voters of all sections and all religions, including the poor, rich, elderly, women, youth, without any discrimination. (It) is (still) standing and will continue to stand,' the CEC said. The pushback came the same day Gandhi launched the Opposition's Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, escalating a political confrontation over the integrity of the rolls. At the heart of the Commission's defence was a categorical rejection of Gandhi's central charge. 'Preparation of electoral rolls and casting of votes are two different processes under two separate laws. When a voter goes to vote and presses the button, he can press it only once… vote theft cannot happen,' Kumar said. He accused Gandhi of using misleading visuals to back his case. 'If someone thinks that he can use a PPT presentation to falsify data and misinterpret facts, then that act is against both the law and Constitution,' Kumar said. The SIR in Bihar—undertaken state-wide for the first time in two decades—has excluded nearly 65 lakh names from the draft roll published on August 1. Opposition leaders have flagged the removal of 22 lakh names as 'deaths' in just six months. Kumar said: 'A Special Intensive Revision was last conducted 20 years ago. Since then, only summary revisions have taken place. The deaths were those unreported to the EC in the last 20 years, not in six months.' On criticism of voters being listed under 'house number 0,' Kumar insisted this was an inclusionary move. 'There are people who stay under bridges, near lampposts, and in unauthorised colonies. The poll body tries to not leave out any voter and assigns them addresses. Nationality, proximity to the booth and age of 18 years were the criteria for inclusion, not a formal address.' The CEC also addressed the politically sensitive issue of duplicate EPICs (Elector Photo Identity Cards). The EC had recently issued a notice to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for allegedly holding two voter IDs, prompting charges of bias. This came months after ECI declared that the voter database had been 'cleaned' of dual EPIC ID issues back in May. Kumar sought to contextualise: 'Duplicate EPICs can happen in two ways. One, that a person in West Bengal has one EPIC number and another person in Haryana has the same number. About three lakh such cases were found and corrected earlier this year. The second type comes when the same person's name is in the voter list at more than one place with different EPICs. Before 2003, when deletions were not centrally tracked, many such names remained.' But he conceded the risks of a hurried clean-up. 'If this is done in a hurry, then any voter's name can be deleted wrongly. Someone else's name will be deleted in your place. We agree there is an issue but we will have to take time and caution to resolve this.' Kumar accused Opposition parties of wilfully spreading doubt. 'It is a matter of great concern that a few political parties have made allegations of vote chori despite their own booth-level agents having received and attested the corrected rolls in the first stage of SIR,' he said. 'This means either local voices are not reaching national leaders, or there is a deliberate attempt to confuse voters.' The CEC maintained that the Commission has received '28,370 complaints from ordinary voters, not political parties.' This contradicted RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's claim, made in a BBC interview, that booth-level agents had lodged hundreds of objections ignored by the EC. Appealing directly to all 12 recognised parties in Bihar, Kumar set a hard deadline. 'File objections by September 1. After that, no complaints will be entertained.' On charges that the compressed timeline left little room for verification, Kumar cited precedent: 'The last intensive revision in 2003 was completed in a month. Booth-level officers visit every household and compile fresh lists from scratch. This is aimed at maximum purity in rolls.' The Commission also sought to showcase its speed in complying with last week's Supreme Court directive. The Court had ordered the EC to publish searchable, district-wise deletion lists along with reasons and to accept Aadhaar as valid proof for reinstatement—reversing the Commission's earlier position. 'We created district-level portals within 56 hours,' Kumar said, adding that voters can now check deletion status online. The press conference ranged beyond Bihar to touch on simmering disputes over privacy, citizenship and the Commission's credibility. Kumar reiterated that the EC could not release machine-readable voter rolls, citing a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that such lists would compromise electors' privacy. 'You can search the voter list available on the EC website by entering the EPIC number and download it. That is searchable, not machine-readable.' He warned Opposition leaders against exposing voters' personal data. 'They showed electors' details in public. They are breaching their privacy. Should the Election Commission share CCTV videos of any voter, including their mothers, daughters-in-law, daughters?' he asked, in a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for releasing voter documents. On the contentious question of whether the EC has the authority to verify voters' citizenship, Kumar asserted: 'Article 326 clearly says that only citizens have the right to vote, and thus the verification of citizenship is within EC's domain of powers.' This marks a departure from the Supreme Court's earlier observation that such verification lies with the Union home ministry. Kumar closed with a forceful defence of the poll body's neutrality: 'We are not scared. I want to make it very clear today that the EC will conduct its duties with fearlessness and ensure that no one is discriminated against on the basis of class and faith. The EC stood with Indian voters like a rock, stands with them like a rock and will continue to be with them like a rock. When more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then neither can any question mark be raised on the credibility of the Commission nor on the credibility of the voters.'
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
CEC warns allegations of ‘vote chori' will be deemed baseless if no proof under oath is filed within seven days
NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday asserted that those, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who are levelling allegations of 'vote chori' (theft), must submit proof under oath within the next seven days, failing which their claims would be treated as baseless. Addressing a press conference here for the first time since the controversy erupted amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls in Bihar, the CEC said that if anybody wants to file a complaint without being a voter of that constituency, 'he/she can do the same only as a witness under oath'. It may be noted that Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had launched a scathing attack against the Commission on July 31. During a press conference, he accused the poll panel of indulging in 'vote chori'. Gandhi, through a PowerPoint presentation, cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and alleged that over 1 lakh votes were 'stolen' in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka through five types of manipulation, including duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses and single-address voters. He also alleged similar irregularities in other states. However, since then the chief electoral officers of several states have asked the Congress leader to file an affidavit under oath on his claims, but he has so far allegedly refused to do so. Responding to questions about Gandhi's allegations, CEC Kumar said: 'Should the Commission issue notice to 1.5 lakh voters without declaration under oath by the complainant.' He further stated: 'If no declaration under oath is given within 7 days, claims will be considered baseless & invalid and those, who are making unfounded allegations should apologise to the nation.' Emphasising that neither the Election Commission nor the voters are concerned by the allegations of double voting or 'vote chori', the CEC said: 'The Sun would continue to rise in the East even if somebody claims it from some other direction.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Rahul Gandhi offers glasses of water to Kharge, Lalu in Bihar; earns kudos for 'gentlemanly' behaviour
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday earned kudos from people for his " gentlemanly behaviour " as he offered glasses of water to party president Mallikarjun Kharge and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, both several years his senior, in Bihar. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency The INDIA bloc heavyweights were sharing the stage in Sasaram town for the launch of ' Voter Adhikar Yatra ', which will cover over 1,000 km across 25 districts of the state within a span of a fortnight. A video of the event has gone viral on social media in which Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, can be seen pouring water into glass tumblers and handing those over to Kharge and Prasad, before himself taking a sip in the sweltering afternoon. The Raebareli MP, who has transformed self-effacement into a style statement, was supposed to be the final speaker at the function, an honour usually reserved for the most senior person, as per the unofficial protocol for such public events. However, Gandhi, who is the undisputed star attraction of the yatra, took the mic ahead of the Congress president and the RJD supremo.
