.jpg%3Frect%3D0%252C48%252C1280%252C672%26w%3D1200%26ar%3D40%253A21%26auto%3Dformat%252Ccompress%26ogImage%3Dtrue%26mode%3Dcrop&w=3840&q=100)
No names can be deleted from draft rolls without due process: EC
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
7 minutes ago
- The Hindu
There should not be targeted attempt to eliminate voice of some citizens, especially from deprived parts of India: Amartya Sen on SIR
1. Do you support the Election Commission's attempt to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls across the country? Getting the rolls right can indeed be a good exercise if it is done correctly. However, if in a hasty attempt to remove errors from the existing list, more errors are introduced, the result can be terrible. Volunteering to undertake this effort with little time and serious possibilities of significant bias can have the effect of making the election far less truthful than continuing to use the existing rolls. Many people have also questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission, and that is an issue that has to be appropriately assessed. But even with an unbiased Election Commission, there can be serious errors in a quickly produced electoral roll, particularly because of the absence of documentary evidence that many citizens, especially the poor and the deprived, are able to present. Class bias is a big danger here. 2. Is there a danger of disenfranchisement of large groups of people in the process of revising the rolls within a very short time, in a hurry? If there is a targeted attempt to eliminate the voice of some citizens, especially from the deprived parts of the nation, that would be a monstrous development. This must be totally avoided, and the Election Commission must take into account the reasons for suspicion that many fair-minded critics have found. It is extremely important that the Election Commission does not generate reason for suspicion by its choices, and that the Supreme Court plays its supervisory role actively and fairly. Indeed, the Supreme Court is ultimately the institution most responsible for making sure that the citizens' rights are not trifled with. As citizens of India, we all have to rely on the constitutional role of the Supreme Court and we are all dependent on its active protection of justice. This is a hugely important concern of citizens today, but there is, in addition, also the question of how the future would judge the Supreme Court today in the light of what they choose to do given the information they have. There is, in fact, a big tomorrow. 3. What do you think of the alleged atrocities against poor migrant Bengali workers in BJP-ruled states? There is a general point here that has to be addressed and also a special concern. The general point is that India is a country for all its citizens, and no part of the nation – whether Bengali or Tamil or Maharashtrian – should be discriminated against in any region of the country. Ill-treatment of Bengali workers elsewhere is very bad indeed, but so is the ill-treatment of any other group of migrant workers. That is the big general point, but a special concern, added to this, is the tendency of some political movements within India to portray many Bengali Indians as if they were Immigrants from Bangladesh. There have, unfortunately, been many attempts at treating Bengalis in general as Bangladeshis. Especially because of the anti-Muslim programmes of some political groups in India, Bengali Indians have often had to suffer from greater discrimination than other Indians. The level of ignorant confusion shown by many powerful officers in Delhi is truly catastrophic when they see the Bengali language (born between the tenth and the eleventh centuries – through the great poetry of Charyapad) as a 'Bangladeshi language'. 4. The BJP seems to be working hard in West Bengal to promote Hindutva in preparation of the state elections next year. Will they succeed? Bengal has had a long history of Hindu-Muslim cordiality as well as cooperative work shared by different communities. A political party that tries to generate communal narrow-mindedness might temporarily experience partial success through its divisive propaganda, but it will not be easy to turn Bengal into a communal bastion of hatred. Divisive efforts of this kind could sometimes have short-lived success, but Bengali culture and society are ultimately resistant to generating an invented internal enmity. The illusion of political gain, if any, from cultivated discord will turn out to be ephemeral.
United News of India
33 minutes ago
- United News of India
Both Houses adjourned for the day over Bihar electoral rolls revision
New Delhi, Aug 6 (UNI) Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day today following noisy protests by Opposition members demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The government maintained that the matter is sub judice and declined to entertain the Opposition's demand. The proceedings of both the Houses will resume tomorrow, August 7. The Lok Sabha assembled at 11 am for the proceeding, but was soon disrupted by Opposition MPs raising slogans, calling for a debate on SIR. Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till noon in an attempt to restore order. Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha witnessed similar commotion, leading the Chairperson, Bhubaneshwar Kalita, to adjourn the House till 12 p.m. He urged members to participate in the discussion on the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025, which was listed for consideration. When the Rajya Sabha resumed at 2 pm, the Bill was passed by voice vote amid continuing protests from the Opposition. Soon after the passage, the House was adjourned for the day. Earlier, when Rajya Sabha commenced for the day, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said he would not admit 35 notices received under Rule 267, prompting Opposition members to stand up and protest, demanding that a discussion be held on important issues. 'Thirty-five notices have been received today under Rule 267. In view of my observation made yesterday, and since none of these notices are in adherence to the rules as enunciated in the past, I am not admitting any of the notices,' Harivansh said. With members refusing to give in, the deputy chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. In Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju appealed to the Opposition to allow the House to function, stating that discussions must conform to constitutional rules and procedures. He said, 'The government has been open to discussions on any matter. However, discussing the SIR issue in Parliament would amount to a violation of rules and conventions.' He further mentioned that the government had postponed the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, on the Opposition's request and would take it up later. Despite disruptions, the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, was passed in the Lok Sabha before the House was adjourned. Amid the din, nothing was audible. The monsoon session, which commenced on July 21, has been marked by repeated disruptions, with only two days dedicated to the debate on Operation Sindoor proceeding without interruption. UNI AJ RBE PRS
Hindustan Times
37 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Parliament Monsoon Session 2025 Live: Key bills on agenda as Houses resume today amid Opposition uproar over Bihar SIR
Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Mansukh Mandaviya, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and other MPs in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Parliament monsoon session live: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha resume proceedings on Thursday amid uproar from the Opposition INDIA bloc demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. However, the Union government has rejected the demand, citing the matter is sub judice before the Supreme More Union minister Kiren Rijiju said in the House on Wednesday, 'We all know that the matter of SIR is under the consideration of the Supreme Court. The matter raised by the opposition is clearly sub judice, so a discussion on this issue cannot be held in this House.' He invoked Rule 186 and Rule 352 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business to support the BJP-led government's stand. Rijiju further stated that the Election Commission of India, being an autonomous constitutional body, could not be subjected to House discussions on its functioning. A similar ruling had been given a day earlier in the Rajya Sabha by deputy chairman Harivansh Singh. The row over Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) intensifies after the poll body released the draft voter roll data from Bihar's SIR exercise, excluding over 65 lakh voter enumeration forms. This triggered criticism from the Opposition, who accused the ECI of acting under pressure from the BJP-led central government. In an adjournment notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary, Congress MP Manickam Tagore alleged large-scale deletions and 'unjustified inclusions' in the draft rolls. The demand to debate the issue has led to frequent adjournments in both Houses of Parliament this session. Key bills and legislative business in Parliament today As per the Lok Sabha agenda, several important items are scheduled for discussion and passage today: 1. Manipur GST Ordinance: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present an explanatory statement justifying the urgency behind promulgating the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. 2. Anti-doping law changes: Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will move amendments to the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 for House approval. 3. Sports governance overhaul: Mandaviya will also introduce the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, aimed at reforming the administration of sports bodies in India. 4. SC/ST reports: BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste will table the fourth report of the committee on SC/ST welfare, focusing on reservations in services and housing by the DDA. 5. Education and inclusion: TDP MP Daggumalla Prasada Rao will present a report assessing the role of universities and autonomous institutions like IITs, IIMs, and central universities in socio-economic development and reservation implementation. 6. Defence standing committee reports: BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Virendra Singh will submit reports on the government's response to past recommendations concerning the Defence Ministry's budget for 2024-25. Marking a significant day on Wednesday, Parliament passed two maritime sector bills in one day—a first for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The Lok Sabha cleared the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024.
