8th August: EC Defends CCTV Cut, Gadkari Backs E20 & Cabinet Plans LPG Aid
UPDATED: Aug 8, 2025 19:30 IST
On News At 7 this 8th of August, Jamshed Qamar Siddiqui brings to you the day's most crucial headlines.
The Election Commission has declined to reveal why it reduced polling booth CCTV footage retention to 45 days, citing a pending Supreme Court case though RTI rules state 'Sub Judice is not valid without a court gag order.
Critics including Rahul Gandhi allege collusion with the BJP. Meanwhile Nitin Gadkari defended 20% ethanol blended petrol, challenging detractors to prove harm.
The Union Cabinet is poised to approve a Rs30,000 crore subsidy for oil firms to offset LPG import costs and stabilize prices.
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Sound Mix By Suraj Singh
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The Hindu
16 minutes ago
- The Hindu
After CSDS psephologist deletes X post, BJP accuses Congress of making 'baseless claims' on voter fraud
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) accused the Congress of making 'baseless' claims about 'vote theft' and targeting the Election Commission of India in 'collusion' with a Delhi-based think tank. This came after Sanjay Kumar, a psephologist and a professor with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), who had shared voter data from two Maharashtra Assembly seats related to last year's State election in a post on X on Sunday (August 17, 2025), subsequently deleted his post on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), apologising for posting erroneous data. The post had claimed a significant decrease in voter numbers in two Assembly seats in the State election compared to the 2024 general election, which was held nearly six months earlier. 'Fake data' Reacting sharply, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia lashed out at Mr. Kumar for posting 'false data' which he claimed was used by the Opposition to target the EC, calling it a 'dangerous game'. 'This survey organisation [CSDS] is nothing but a puppet at the hands of leaders like Rahul Gandhi who could not win people's trust. He needs such an organisation which can provide fake data and facts so that he can make baseless allegations,' Mr. Bhatia said. 'Congress leader Pawan Khera tweets on this and then deletes. Rahul Gandhi's baseless allegations are also based on CSDS data,' he added. Deleting his post on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), Mr. Kumar wrote on X, 'I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. An error occurred while comparing the data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in the row was misread by our Data team.' The erroneous tweet has since been removed, he said, adding, 'I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.'
News18
16 minutes ago
- News18
IAS Officers Slam Personal Attacks On CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Family After Spat With Rahul Gandhi
Curated By : Last Updated: August 19, 2025, 23:42 IST Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. (PTI) The IAS fraternity has strongly condemned abuse and personal remarks against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his family, following a tense confrontation between the Election Commission and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has accused the poll body of stealing votes to benefit the BJP. 'We strongly condemn unwarranted abuse and personal attacks against Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar and his family. We urge everyone to maintain respect and decorum, acknowledging his dedicated service and significant contributions towards the nation," read a post by IAS Fraternity on X. We strongly condemns unwarranted abuse and personal attacks against Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar and his family. We urge everyone to maintain respect and decorum, acknowledging his dedicated service and significant contributions towards the nation. IAS Fraternity 🇮🇳 (@IASfraternity) August 19, 2025 The confrontation between two Constitutional position holders—the CEC and the LoP – began after Rahul Gandhi alleged 'vote theft" and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the state. The Election Commission has repeatedly denied these 'baseless" accusations and called on Gandhi to sign an affidavit or apologise. ALSO READ: Can India's Chief Election Commissioner Be Impeached? The Law, Politics And Current Row In a departure from norms, the Chief Election Commissioner held a press conference to address Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', where he stressed that the Bihar SIR is aimed at removing all shortcomings in voter lists, while slamming political parties for spreading misinformation. In a tersely-worded speech, Kumar rejected as 'baseless" the allegations of double voting and 'vote theft", saying it was an insult to the Constitution. He also called on Rahul Gandhi to either sign an affidavit or apologise to the country for his claims of vote theft. Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, the opposition parties, led by the Congress, said the Election Commission is not acting like an unbiased entity and is in the hands of officers who are taking sides. The parties also accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of acting like a BJP spokesperson, saying he failed to answer their questions on the SIR exercise. On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of 'stealing" elections in collusion with the BJP, claiming that attempts were underway to manipulate the Bihar Assembly polls through voter additions and deletions through the SIR exercise. Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More News india IAS Officers Slam Personal Attacks On CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Family After Spat With Rahul Gandhi Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Read More
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Rahul Gandhi claims EC, BJP will steal voter cards, then ration cards and land in Bihar
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that a "partnership" has been going on between the Election Commission and the BJP to "steal votes" and cautioned people in Bihar that once their right to vote is snatched away, their ration cards and lands will also be taken away. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holding Tiranga during Voter Adhikar Yatra at Nawada, Bihar, India, Tuesday,19, 2025. (Hindustan Times) Gandhi also claimed that the last Bihar Assembly polls were also "stolen" and this truth would come out one day. "When this truth comes out, the Election Commission people should not forget that our government is going to take action against them," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said while addressing a gathering in Nalanda on the third day of his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar. He also asserted that the youth of Bihar will not allow votes to be "stolen". "They will not let it happen because vote is our right and the poor in today's India have only their right to vote left, and if your right to vote is taken away, then your ration card, your land and everything will be taken away," Gandhi said. Alleging that the EC is getting "vote chori" done, Gandhi said that after an analysis the Congress found over one lakh fake voters voted in one assembly segment of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat but the poll body refused to answer and asked him to give an affidavit instead. "EC did not give an answer when we asked for a machine-readable voters' list and videography as it is getting 'vote chori' done," the former Congress chief said. "Don't ask for an affidavit from me, it is your (EC's) of Bihar will come to ask you to give an affidavit, people of Bihar will not let vote chori happen," he said. Gandhi said 65 lakh voters have been deleted in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and urged people to not allow this. "We have started this yatra against 'vote chori' that will travel through Bihar," Gandhi said with the crowd responding with the slogan 'vote chor, gaddi chhor'. He also asserted that there is an urgent need to combat unemployment. "We have to finish 'Made in China' and bring in 'Made in India' and 'Made in Bihar'. We have to end unemployment," Gandhi said. Earlier, addressing a gathering at Bhagat Singh Chowk in Nawada, Gandhi said the right to vote has been given to the people by the Constitution and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the election commissioners are "snatching" it away from them. "This is your right that has been given to you by the Constitution that you have fought for and Modi, Shah and election commissioners are snatching away from you. (RJD's) Tejashwi (Yadav), me and the other (Mahagathbandhan) leaders standing here want to tell them that we will not let you steal even one vote in (Bihar)," Gandhi said. He alleged that the EC-BJP have "stolen" the elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. In Maharashtra, about one crore voters were added through magic between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, Gandhi said. "Now in Bihar they are carrying out 'vote chori' in a new manner. They are doing this chori before your eyes but we will not let them do vote chori," he said. Cautioning the people, he said, "First your voter card will go, then your ration card will go and then your land would be handed over to Adani and Ambani." This country belongs to farmers, labourers, small traders and the youth, and not to a few billionaires like Adani and Ambani, he said. Gandhi said all the wrong laws, GST, demonetisation are aimed at benefiting a few billionaires. "You give money and resources and the country cannot give you employment, this has to change and that is why we have started this Voter Adhikar Yatra," he said in his address to the people standing atop his vehicle flanked by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(ML) Liberation's Dipankar Bhattacharya. At the start of the address, Gandhi asked a person whose name had been deleted from the voters' list to address the people. The person said he had been a polling agent in the Lok Sabha polls but his name had been removed from the SIR of electoral rolls. "There are lakhs of such people in Bihar who voted but their names have been removed from the voters' list," Gandhi said. "There is a partnership going on between the BJP and the Election Commission, they are together colluding to indulge in vote chori," he charged. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejaswi Yadav, while addressing the gathering in Nawada, said that whenever the Lok Sabha elections are held in future, "we will make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister." The leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly targeted the EC on the issue of SIR and said that "vote theft" will not be allowed in Bihar. He also claimed that after "vote theft", people's ration cards and pensions will be snatched away. On Tuesday, the third day of the yatra started from Wazirganj in Gaya and entered Nawada. After this, the yatra reached Nalanda via Sheikhpura. Wednesday is a break day in the yatra and it will again start from Nalanda on Thursday. Gandhi also paid homage to the statue of Bihar's first chief minister Krishna Singh in Sheikhpura. The yatra is being undertaken in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicle, as was Gandhi's Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. It will also pass through Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra and Ara.
