Draconian, direct assault on democracy: Left parties on bills to remove PM, CMs over criminal charges
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Left parties on Wednesday said the new bills that provide for the removal of the prime minister or chief ministers arrested on serious criminal charges, are a direct "assault" on democracy and the federal framework, and vowed to oppose it "tooth and nail".The government plans to introduce three bills in Parliament on Wednesday for the removal of the prime minister, a Union minister, a chief minister or a minister of a state or Union Territory when arrested or detained on serious criminal charges for 30 days in a rowFlaying the move, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on X that "Modi Govt's 3 bills to oust PM, CMs, Ministers after 30 days in custody expose its neo-fascist characteristics. This direct assault on our democracy will be opposed by CPIM tooth and nail. We urge all democratic forces to unite against this draconian move"."These bills, cloaked as tackling crime in high office, reveal their true intent given the RSS-controlled Modi govt's history of undermining elected state govts. With SIR, they mark a blatant move to subvert our democracy. All democratic forces must resist," he said on X.CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas called the bills "draconian"."The new bill by Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, purportedly in the name of 'public interest, welfare, and good governance,' is, in reality, draconian and designed to destabilize opposition-led state governments while undermining India's federal structure," Brittas said in a post on X."In an era marked by vindictive politics, where central agencies are deployed against opposition leaders, the provisions will be misused for ulterior motives," he said.The CPI(M) leader said the bill's reference to "constitutional morality" contradicts its spirit, as it deviates from the established principle that disqualification and punishment should be tied to convictions by courts, not merely charges or arrests."This principle is clearly enshrined in Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA). In today's pernicious political climate, where individuals can be easily charged, arrested, and detained for extended periods, this legislation will be weaponised to target political opponents and erode democratic norms," he said.CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the bills will sound the "death knell" for federalism."Viewed together with the ongoing systematic subversion of the electoral system starting with the appointment of Election Commissioners to the relentless push for 'One Nation, One Election' system, this amendment will sound the death knell for federalism and parliamentary democracy in India," Bhattacharya said."Every state government opposed to the BJP's politics and policies will henceforth be rendered permanently destabilised and dysfunctional. Every NDA ally will be on tenterhooks to fall in line with the BJP," he said in a statement."The weaponisation of central agencies like ED, CBI, IT, NIA and the abuse of the Constitutional office of Governors in narrow partisan interest, a trend which has been seriously condemned on several occasions even by the Supreme Court, will now gain legal validity with the enactment of this bill," he added.The three bills were approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.These bills are the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bills are likely to be referred to a committee of Parliament
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The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
India's democracy is failing the migrant citizen
In a democracy of 1.4 billion, every vote matters. But for millions of migrants from Bihar, democracy is quietly leaving them behind. A silent crisis is unfolding, where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of State electoral rolls, and at short notice, has led to the mass deletion of nearly 3.5 million migrants (4.4% of the total voters). These are the migrants who have been labelled as 'permanently migrated' for being absent during house-to-house verification. These voters now face permanent disenfranchisement not just in their places of work but also at home. In a State where migration is not just an economic choice but also a survival strategy, this sweeping administrative action is threatening to erase millions from India's democratic record. For decades, out-migration has sustained Bihar's economy and its households. Locked homes, especially among poor and most vulnerable migrants, are a common sight across villages. Increasingly, migrants either migrate with their families or shift their families to marital homes for their care and safety. Yet, this reality of circular and split-family migration is now being read by the state as an abandonment of electoral rights. The 'sedentary citizen' is the issue The deeper issue lies in India's electoral infrastructure, which is still designed around a sedentary citizen. Voter registration is tethered to proof of residence and in-person verification. But for migrant workers — many live in rented rooms, at construction sites, on foot paths or in slums — such documentation is either unavailable or denied. This exclusion deepens in the context of regionalism and sub-nationalism, where migrants are often seen as job-stealers or political threats. Growing demands for job quotas in private sectors and strict domicile-based norms for government jobs reflect the larger political sentiments, which curtails the political inclusion of migrants. In host States, migrants are treated as outsiders and fears of altered electoral outcomes fuel resistance to their enfranchisement. It discourages voter registration at destinations. As a result, migrants remain stuck: unable to register in destination States, and now removed from their origin rolls. The findings of a study A Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai study in November 2015, funded by the Election Commission of India, titled 'Inclusive Elections in India: A Study on Domestic Migration and Issues in Electoral Participation', confirmed the marginalisation of migrants in a host State's electoral processes. The study identifies a triple burden — administrative barriers, digital illiteracy, and social exclusion — preventing a migrant from effectively participating in electoral processes. Crucially, the study found that lower voter turnout was directly correlated with the higher migration rates in the source States. And yet, rather than bridging this turnout gap, Bihar's SIR initiative is widening the democratic deficit. This is not just a bureaucratic failure. It is a democratic rupture. The average turnout rate in Bihar's last four Assembly elections was only 53.2%, the lowest among major Indian States. In contrast, Gujarat and Karnataka — States with fewer outbound migrants — reported an average of a turnout of 66.4% and 70.7%, respectively, in the last four elections. Our own estimates, based on mobile visitor location register data, suggest an annual outflow of approximately seven million circular migrants from Bihar. Out of this number, 4.8 million migrate seasonally between June and September. However, half of them (2.7 million) return home during the festivals of Durga Puja, Chhath and Deepavali between October and November. This year, where there will be an Assembly election, many of the return migrants will be unable to vote as their names have been struck off. Without coordination with destination States to verify or re-enrol these voters, the deletion process becomes a de facto disenfranchisement of the poor migrants. The limited uptake of the 'One Nation One Ration Card' Scheme in the last six years, since its launch in 2019 (nation-wide portability of ration card holders under National Food Security Act, 2013), underscores the constraints of migrants in the host States. Most migrants from Bihar avail rations in their home State, with only 3.3 lakh households availing portability in destination States as of May 2025. Dual residency, fear of losing entitlements and bureaucratic hurdles deter transfers. The same logic applies to voter IDs — they keep origin-based documents not because they are indifferent to civic duties, but because they lack security and acceptance in host States. This dual belonging — economic participation in host States, political identity in home States — is now being demonised by the state. Migrants are being told bluntly that 'if you're not home when we knock, your right to vote vanishes'. Along the 1,751 kilometre-long open India-Nepal border, the issue becomes even more complex. The region has long celebrated the 'roti-beti ka rishta', a tradition of cross-border economic and marital ties. Many Nepali and Indian women migrate post-marriage, yet new documentation norms and restrictive citizenship interpretations now threaten their legal and electoral status. Here, disenfranchisement is not just regional or class-based but also gendered and xenophobic. Time for a portable identity system The way forward is clear. India must move toward portable, flexible, and mobile voter identity systems. The Election Commission of India must halt blanket deletions of migrants and adopt a cross-verification model with destination State voter rolls. Civil society and local governance bodies such as panchayats should be empowered to conduct migrant outreach and re-registration drives. It is high time that the Kerala model of migration surveys should be replicated among high internal migration origin States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. If these steps are not taken, India risks scripting the largest silent voter purge in post-Independence India — a purge not of enemies, but of the hard-working poor who leave home only in search of bread, dignity and work. S. Irudaya Rajan is Chair, International Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala. Arif Nizam is an independent migration researcher based in Bihar
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The fact is the ECI is a commission in crisis
India's first Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sukumar Sen (March 21, 1950 to December 19, 1958) was a man of few words. But he was a man of great action. He published no memoirs but is credited with having conducted one of the world's largest and most inclusive elections. His life is a lesson for those who are now in office: History remembers your work. Not your words or your excuses. Reeling from a damning Supreme Court of India's interim order on August 14, 2025 (to publish the names and reasons for excluding 65 lakh electors from the Bihar draft roll), and facing a litany of questions following a game-changing exposé by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now facing what is arguably the thorniest credibility crisis in its history. And, going by the reactions to the ECI's recent press conference on Sunday, August 17, it is likely to get worse. It is unclear what the ECI wanted to achieve by holding this press conference. Oscillating between vague self-congratulatory rhetoric to placing the onus on political parties regarding the integrity of voter lists, and then calling out (without naming) the Leader of the Opposition, with incorrect references to the law, the ECI seemed unsure of the message that it sought to be communicated. Unconvincing answers If it was to clarify the doubts with regard to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar exercise, it did not do so. If it was to reassure voters of the sanctity of voter rolls, it did not do so. If it was to answer the questions with regard to voter anomalies raised by the Opposition parties and independent journalists, it did not do so. What the ECI did succeed in doing was vindicating the Opposition claim of the ECI being neither bipartisan nor administratively savvy. The Internet was flooded with clips of the CEC, Gyanesh Kumar, giving unconvincing answers to important questions. One example was the CEC's reason for the ECI's refusal to share video footage. This footage, which is essential to identify dual voting, cannot be given apparently on the grounds that it would violate the privacy of women, which is outrageously absurd. Here is another example. The CEC asked why politicians raise these issues after the election results and not when the draft voter lists are shared with the Booth Level Agents before the election. The answer is that electoral fraud becomes apparent only after voting. Bogus voter patterns can only be identified after the results are declared. That the Chief Election Commissioner of India does not know this is cause for concern. And, what the CEC did not tell the public is how the ECI has steadfastly refused to share the same voter list data (which it provides before an election) after the results are declared. Denial of data Let us give other examples based on experience. The first writer of this article, on behalf of his party, the Indian National Congress, wrote to the ECI on December 27, 2024, asking for the electoral rolls related to Maharashtra and Haryana. The ECI did not even bother acknowledging the writer's requests despite another communication on January 17, 2025. Given this stone walling, the writer had no other option but to approach the Delhi High Court. There could be no justification to deny data which had already been provided to political parties and the refusal of which could not be justified by invoking any legal provision. As a result, on February 25, 2025, notice was issued by the Delhi High Court. On the same day, the ECI submitted that it had directed the respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to decide the representation in accordance with the law and through a speaking order. 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Randeep Singh Surjewala is a Member of Parliament (Congress party) and an advocate. Muhammad A. Khan is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and the Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Law Department
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Business Standard
22 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India will respond decisively whenever terrorism threatens citizens: Govt
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In response to the killing of civilians in Pahalgam, "India gave its armed forces full freedom of action", the synopsis says. Using drones and precision munitions, they struck nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. More than 100 terrorists were eliminated, including individuals linked to the IC814 hijacking and the Pulwama attack. Pakistan attempted retaliatory strikes through drones and missiles, but Indian counter-drone systems neutralised them, it adds. In his 79th Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Operation Sindoor as "a new normal", making it clear that "India will respond with full force whenever terrorism threatens its citizens," the synopsis says. Beyond immediate responses, the Modi government is preparing for "long-term threats," the government said. In his Independence Day speech, Modi had announced the Sudarshan Chakra Mission, a futuristic defence programme. 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