logo
Poll body flags duplicate voter ID of Sudama Prasad's wife amid poll roll revision

Poll body flags duplicate voter ID of Sudama Prasad's wife amid poll roll revision

India Today3 days ago
Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav having two voter ID cards, Election Commission sources on Sunday said that another case of dual voter ID cards has come to light. According to officials, the wife of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation MP Sudama Prasad also holds two Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). Sudama Prasad is the member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly who serves as a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Arrah. advertisementCPI(ML) Liberation is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, the poll body asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to submit a voter ID card he displayed publicly, which officials say was 'not issued officially.'Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, had on Saturday alleged that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He claimed that his original EPIC number had been changed and demonstrated an online search using the number at a press conference.In response, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer for Digha constituency wrote to Yadav, saying that a preliminary investigation showed the EPIC number he mentioned had not been officially issued. He was asked to hand over the card in question for further inquiry.District Magistrate Thiyagaraja S M clarified that the EPIC number currently in the electoral roll is the same as the one listed in Yadav's 2020 assembly election affidavit. If another EPIC card exists, he said, it warrants investigation.Meanwhile, NDA leaders including BJP's Ajay Alok, JD(U)'s Neeraj Kumar, and LJP (Ram Vilas)'s Rajesh Bhatt demanded legal action against Yadav for allegedly holding two voter ID cards. They questioned whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a key ally in the INDIA bloc, supported what they termed as 'fraud.'Their remarks follow Gandhi's recent claim that the Congress has an 'atom bomb' of evidence to prove the Election Commission manipulated votes in favour of the BJP. NDA leaders said the opposition was attempting to discredit the EC due to fear of defeat in upcoming elections.- Ends
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Notification for Vice-Presidential poll issued, nomination process begins
Notification for Vice-Presidential poll issued, nomination process begins

Business Standard

time24 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

Notification for Vice-Presidential poll issued, nomination process begins

The post of Vice President fell vacant on July 21 after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned unexpectedly, citing health reasons New Delhi The Election Commission on Thursday issued a notification for the election to the office of the Vice President, scheduled for September 9, officially kick-starting the nomination process. Key dates: Last date for filing nominations: August 21 Scrutiny of nomination papers: August 22 Last date for withdrawal of candidature: August 25 The post of Vice President fell vacant on July 21 after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned unexpectedly, citing health reasons. His tenure was otherwise set to continue until August 2027. According to constitutional provisions, in the case of a midterm election, the newly elected Vice President gets a full five-year term. How is the Vice President elected? As per Article 66 of the Constitution, the Vice President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament, including nominated members. Unlike the Presidential election, members of state legislative assemblies are not part of the voting process. The election is conducted using the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote (STV), with voting held through a secret ballot. Under STV, MPs mark their preferences, and counting proceeds in rounds until a candidate secures the required quota. To contest, a candidate must be: A citizen of India At least 35 years old Eligible for election to the Rajya Sabha They must also not hold any office of profit under the Centre, state governments, or government-controlled bodies. Electoral arithmetic: NDA holds clear advantage The current effective strength of both Houses stands at 786, with one vacancy in the 543-member Lok Sabha (Basirhat, West Bengal) and five in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, four from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Punjab, vacated after AAP leader Sanjeev Arora was elected to the state assembly in a bypoll. To win, a candidate needs at least 394 votes, assuming full turnout. The NDA, led by the BJP, enjoys a clear edge with 293 members in the Lok Sabha and 129 in the Rajya Sabha, including support from nominated members. With a total backing of 422 MPs, the ruling alliance is comfortably placed to secure the vice presidential post. Dhankhar steps down mid-term Jagdeep Dhankhar, who took office in August 2022, resigned on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon Session, citing health reasons. He became the third Vice President to step down before completing the five-year term. In his resignation letter, he said: 'To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution.' With his departure, the EC has now set in motion the electoral process to fill the vacancy.

There should not be targeted attempt to eliminate voice of some citizens, especially from deprived parts of India: Amartya Sen on SIR
There should not be targeted attempt to eliminate voice of some citizens, especially from deprived parts of India: Amartya Sen on SIR

The Hindu

time24 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.

Both Houses adjourned for the day over Bihar electoral rolls revision
Both Houses adjourned for the day over Bihar electoral rolls revision

United News of India

timean hour 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

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store