logo
Serious questions which must be addressed, EC must act: Tharoor on Rahul's poll rigging claims

Serious questions which must be addressed, EC must act: Tharoor on Rahul's poll rigging claims

Indian Express2 days ago
Citing Rahul Gandhi's poll rigging claims, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said these are 'serious questions' which must be seriously addressed in the interest of all voters and urged the Election Commission to act urgently.
In a post on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said India's democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering.
Tagging a post by the Congress on Gandhi's press conference, in which the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged a 'huge criminal fraud' in polls, Tharoor said these are 'serious questions' which must be seriously addressed in the interest of all parties and all voters.
'Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering. @ECISVEEP must urgently act & @SpokespersonECI should keep the nation informed,' Tharoor said in his post.
Tharoor's remarks demanding action over Gandhi's claims assume significance as of late, he has been at odds with the party's stance on certain issues, including Operation Sindoor.
The differences first emerged after the government picked Tharoor to lead a diplomatic delegation to the US and other countries to convey India's zero-tolerance stance on terrorism following the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
At a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi made explosive claims of a 'huge criminal fraud' in polls through collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission. He cited an analysis in a constituency in Karnataka and said it was 'a crime against the Constitution'.
Claiming the 'vote chori model' was being used in many constituencies across the country, Gandhi also said that the judiciary needs to get involved in this because 'the democracy that we love so much, does not exist anymore'.
Gandhi said what his party collected through research was 'criminal evidence' and alleged that the Election Commission was busy destroying such proof across the country.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Chhattisgarh's latest scheme aims to get stray cattle off the roads
Chhattisgarh's latest scheme aims to get stray cattle off the roads

Indian Express

time7 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Chhattisgarh's latest scheme aims to get stray cattle off the roads

With the aim of stopping accidents due to the presence of cattle on roads, as well as to strengthen the rural economy, the Chhattisgarh government is set to launch Gaudham Yojana, where stray cattle will be kept in shelters and locals will get paid to graze and look after them, officials said. This initiative will also promote organic farming, fodder development and cow-based industries, they said. The Indian Express reported last year that 404 people had died and 129 were seriously injured after the vehicles they were travelling in crashed into animals, mostly cattle, in Chhattisgarh over a period of five and a half years. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, 'The Gaudham Yojana will protect livestock and generate jobs in villages. Breed improvement efforts will help cattle produce more milk and make them more useful for agriculture.' Shahla Nigar, Agriculture Production Commissioner and Secretary, told The Indian Express that the scheme would ensure permanent shelter for stray cattle, getting them off the roads and preventing accidents. 'It will also ensure they do not stray into farms, damaging crops. We will also provide training for the production of cow dung and cow urine-based products, such as vermicompost, pest repellents, cow wood, gonoil, lamps, tooth powder and incense sticks, and help market them,' Nigar said. 'In the first phase, gaudhams (cow shelters) will be established in rural areas located along major national highways,' the officer said. Each gaudham will be able to house a maximum of 200 cattle, depending on capacity. Under the Gaudham Yojana, cowherds will receive a monthly honourarium of Rs 10,916, while cattle attendants will get Rs 13,126. Additionally, a fixed daily allowance will be provided for cattle fodder. Similar schemes had also been launched by the previous Congress-run government in the state. A government source said, 'This move by the BJP government is not only an attempt to revive and strengthen the incomplete and failed plan of the previous government, but also a concrete and politically significant initiative aimed at providing a permanent solution to the issue of stray cattle on roads. The Gaudham scheme is expected to boost both cattle protection and the rural economy in Chhattisgarh.' These Gaudhams will be established only on government land with secure fencing, cattle sheds, adequate water supply, and electricity, officials said.

Today in Politics: PM in Bengaluru; J&K Congress steps up statehood demand
Today in Politics: PM in Bengaluru; J&K Congress steps up statehood demand

Indian Express

time7 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Today in Politics: PM in Bengaluru; J&K Congress steps up statehood demand

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bengaluru to inaugurate the Yellow Line of Bangalore Metro and the Vande Bharat Express train between Bengaluru and Belagavi. The PM will additionally visit the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bengaluru. The visit comes just days after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's accusations of 'voter fraud' in a Bengaluru seat. On Thursday, Gandhi accused the poll body and the BJP of perpetrating 'a huge criminal fraud' in elections. To back his accusation, Gandhi released what he called findings of an investigation the Congress had carried out in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency that is part of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka. In a presentation to the media at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, Gandhi said the Congress won all the Assembly segments in Bangalore Central except Mahadevpura and lost the election by 1,14,046 votes. 'They were stolen in five different ways: duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters in a single address, invalid photos, and misuse of Form 6, which is given to first-time voters for enrolment,' Gandhi said. The LoP said the Congress analysis revealed 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters with the same address, 4,132 invalid photos, and 33,692 instances of Form 6 misuse. Gandhi alleged there were instances of one person appearing in 'four polling booths' and voting in multiple booths. 'There are thousands of such voters who have voted multiple times in different states. A total of 11,965 votes have been stolen like this,' the LoP said, showing voter lists with the photograph of a person whom he identified as Gurkirat Singh Dang. Gandhi claimed Dang's name figured in voter lists in four different polling booths in Mahadevpura. Gandhi then showed voter lists with the photograph of a person whom he identified as Adtiya Srivastava, and claimed the person in question was enrolled as a voter in two polling booths in Karnataka and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. '… Same name, the same address, the same person in four different polling booths. And this is not just one person, this is thousands of people in one Assembly,' he said. On Friday, he urged the Congress-led Karnataka government to investigate alleged irregularities in the Bangalore Central constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and initiate action against the culprits behind it. Addressing the Congress's 'Vote Adhikar Rally' at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Gandhi asked the EC to share the digital voter list of constituencies across India compiled in the last 10 years along with CCTV footage recorded at polling booths in elections during this period. 'Here (in Karnataka), one Lok Sabha seat was stolen. This is a criminal act against the people of the state. The Karnataka government should investigate this and take action,' Gandhi said. On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Congress leaders sat on a hunger strike to press for the restoration of the Union territory's statehood. The strike was launched by Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Karra at the party's head office at M A Road in Srinagar. A similar hunger strike will be observed in Jammu on Sunday. Speaking to reporters, Karra said the party has launched a 'struggle to awaken the blind, deaf and dumb government in Delhi'. 'We selected this day as it is the day when the 'Quit India Movement' was launched. From August 9 to 21, the party will observe six hunger strikes across various districts of J-K,' he said. Last month, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a plea to the Centre for restoring statehood. 'We're not asking for something that is not our due. Statehood is the right, it was promised to the people,' he had said on July 20. What would restoration of statehood mean for J&K? What would it take for that to happen? — With PTI inputs

The Hindu Morning Digest - August 10, 2025
The Hindu Morning Digest - August 10, 2025

The Hindu

time7 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

The Hindu Morning Digest - August 10, 2025

ECI again asks Rahul Gandhi to submit evidence of irregularity in Karnataka Assembly election under oath The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday (August 9, 2025) again asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit under oath the allegations made by him on voter roll manipulation in a Karnataka Assembly Constituency. Either Mr. Gandhi should give a declaration/oath, or apologise to the country, sources in the ECI said. Mr. Gandhi had in a press conference claimed that 1,00,250 'fake votes' were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly seat under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, in order to ensure a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). No name will be deleted without notice, says ECI on Bihar SIR The Election Commission of India (ECI) assured the Supreme Court on Saturday (August 9, 2025) that deletion of voters' names in the Bihar draft electoral roll, published on August 1 as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, would be done only after issuing prior notice indicating the grounds for the action. The poll body said 2.5 lakh volunteers, mostly Bihar government officials, have been deployed to assist eligible voters obtain requisite documents from the various State departments to avoid exclusion from the final electoral roll. India welcomes Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin summit in Alaska India on Saturday (August 9, 2025) welcomed the summit between the United States and Russia to be held in Alaska on August 15. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the summit, which comes after more than three years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as a move that holds the 'promise' of ending the conflict. The meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was announced by Mr. Trump earlier on Saturday. Under whose pressure did PM stop Operation Sindoor, asks Congress Hours after Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh revealed on Saturday (August 9, 2025) that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor, the Congress asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why India's military action against Pakistan was 'suddenly stopped' and under whose 'pressure'. India launched the operation against a few terror bases in Pakistan on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalagam terror attack on April 22. After three days of intense conflict, both countries reached an understanding on May 10 to end the hostilities. Though U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that he helped broker the ceasefire, the Centre has consistently denied it. Not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by Indian armed forces, claims Khawaja Asif Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday (August 9, 2025) claimed that no aircraft of the military was hit or destroyed by Indian armed forces during the recent conflict. His comments came hours after Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor. He said the operation also resulted in a large number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones and some of their missiles falling into the Indian territory. Gaza civil defence says 18 killed across territory Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 18 people were killed across the Palestinian territory on Saturday (August 9, 2025), including civilians who were waiting to collect aid. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least six people were killed and 30 wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza. The spokesman said strikes hit areas elsewhere in central Gaza, resulting in multiple casualties. Thailand again accuses Cambodia of planting land mines as 3 soldiers are hurt by blast along border Three Thai soldiers on patrol were wounded Saturday (August 9, 2025) when one stepped on a land mine in territory along the border with Cambodia, Thailand's army announced. The incident came just two days after the two countries reaffirmed their adherence to a ceasefire to end a brief armed conflict. The Army's statement said the incident took place in Thailand's Sisaket province and 'clearly demonstrates to both domestic and international society that the use of concealed weapons in border areas continues to exist, constituting a clear violation of the Ottawa Convention by the Cambodian side.' In Gurez Valley, a lone man is archiving the Dard-Shin story The Dard-Shin tribe, which once ruled large parts of Kashmir in the 16th Century and is now nestled in the Gurez valley with Pakistan border posts in the backyard, has found an archivist in Basheer Ahmad Teroo. For the past three years, Mr. Teroo, 48, has been travelling the length and breadth of what was once known as Dardistan, collecting vestiges of his community's culture – items that he has begun storing and displaying at his home in Dawar town. Political parties say they have filed many claims and objections after Bihar draft roll, though ECI lists zero complaints Even as the Election Commission maintains that no claims and objections have been filed by political parties over names wrongfully included or excluded in the draft electoral list in Bihar, political workers — including Booth Level Agents (BLA) on the ground — claim that they have filed many such complaints. In fact, party workers say that when they flag the deletion of names of eligible voters through these complaints, Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) tell them to ask voters to instead file Form 6, which is meant for first-time voter registrations. Restored Nagasaki bell rings in 80 years since A-bomb Twin cathedral bells rang in unison on Saturday (August 9, 2025) in Japan's Nagasaki for the first time since the atomic bombing of the city 80 years ago, commemorating the moment of horror. On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. After heavy downpours Saturday morning, the rain stopped shortly before a moment of silence and ceremony in which Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki urged the world to 'stop armed conflicts immediately'. ₹2,000 for a Coolie ticket: Bengalureans shocked at exorbitant rates for Rajinikanth's film The ₹200 price cap on movie tickets continues to be a dream for film lovers of Bengaluru. In July, the State government had issued a draft notification on capping cinema ticket prices. However, the ticket rates for the upcoming Rajinikanth biggie, Coolie, has left people surprised and shocked in equal measure. The movie will hit the screens worldwide on August 14, 2025.

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