Opposition holds 'T-shirt protest' against SIR, 'vote chori' in Parliament premises
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, TMC's Derek O'Brien, DMK's TR Baalu, NCP(SP)'s Supriya Sule, as well as other opposition MPs from DMK and Left parties, gathered near Parliament's Makar Dwar.
They held posters and raised slogans, demanding a rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
This was the 15th day of the protest. A banner in front of the protesting MPs read "Our Vote. Our Right. Our Fight".
Another banner carried by the protesting MPs read "SIR - Silent Invisible Rigging".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Manipur Governor meets Naga outfit delegation over India-Myanmar border fencing, scrapping of FMR
A delegation of United Naga Council (UNC) met Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhavan Saturday to discuss the India-Myanmar border fencing and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR). The apex body of Naga outfits in Manipur, UNC has been opposing the ongoing construction of border fencing, as well as scrapping of FMR — stating 'these would otherwise affect the community that has been divided by the border'. The 10-member delegation, led by UNC president Ng Lorho, shared their views and concerns related to border fencing and FMR scrapping, and requested the Governor to take up these issues with the Central government, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement. 'The Governor has assured to facilitate talks between the Government of India and the UNC at the earliest,' Lorho told the media, adding another round of talks involving the Government and the UNC 'would be arranged within three days'. The meeting came in the wake of expiry of the 20-day ultimatum by the UNC in protest against the 'ongoing border fencing work along the Indo-Myanmar border' and the 'unilateral suspension of the FMR'. On August 11, during an emergency presidential council meeting, the UNC declared it was left with 'no option, but to intensify its movement'. With PTI
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Wang Yi to arrive tomorrow on 2-day visit, hold talks with Jaishankar & Doval
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India for two days, beginning Monday, to hold border talks with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced Saturday. Wang's visit comes days ahead of PM Narendra Modi's likely trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Wang and Doval are the designated Special Representatives for the boundary talks. 'At the invitation of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India on August 18 and 19,' the MEA said in a statement. 'During his visit, he will hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives' (SR) talks on the India-China boundary question with India's SR, NSA Doval,' it said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also hold bilateral talks with the visiting Chinese Foreign minister. Doval travelled to China in December last year and held the SR talks with Wang, weeks after Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan in October. PM Modi will embark on a visit to Japan around August 29 and after concluding the trip, he is expected to travel to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit to be held on August 31 and September 1. His visit to China is being planned amid efforts by the two neighbouring countries to repair their bilateral ties, which was impacted due to the border standoff in Galwan in June 2020. While the two sides have completed the disengagement process along the LAC, about 50,000 to 60,000 troops are still deployed along the border. The two sides are discussing the next steps of de-escalation and de-induction of military troops. At the same time, they are also working towards normalising ties by taking a few steps, including the resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting tourist visas to Chinese nationals. Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had travelled to China in this regard earlier this year. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar visited China in the last two months to attend the SCO meetings; NSA Doval also travelled to China in June for the SCO special representatives' meeting. New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday spoke to his British counterpart David Lammy and discussed various aspects of the Ukraine conflict, including the US-Russia summit talks on it. The call was initiated by the British side. 'Our discussions covered the recent Ukraine developments and other issues,' Jaishankar said on X. PTI
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Election Commission hits back at parties amid row over deletions from draft rolls
The Election Commission of India accused opposition parties on Saturday of raising electoral roll concerns at the wrong time, and scheduled a press conference for Sunday that will coincide with Congress launching a statewide yatra on in poll-bound Bihar The commission is scheduled to address a briefing at 3pm on Sunday The commission is scheduled to address a briefing at 3pm on Sunday, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi begins a 16-day 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar against what the opposition party says is alleged voter fraud via the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that has led to 6.5 million people being excluded from the state's electoral rolls. 'It seems that some political parties and their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) did not examine the electoral rolls at the appropriate time and did not point out errors, if any, to SDMs/EROs, DEOs or CEOs,' the commission said in a statement on Saturday, referring to a process that occurs yearly. The poll body said parties are now raising concerns outside the designated process. 'Recently, some political parties and individuals are raising issues about errors in electoral rolls, including the electoral rolls prepared in the past,' it said. The commission said there was a proper procedure for addressing electoral roll concerns. 'The appropriate time to raise any issue with the electoral rolls would have been during the claims and objections period of that phase, which is precisely the objective behind sharing the electoral rolls with all political parties and the candidates,' it stated. 'Had these issues been raised at the right time through the right channels, it would have enabled the concerned SDM/EROs to correct the mistakes, if genuine, before those elections,' the commission added. Typically, every year, electoral rolls undergo summary revision with a qualifying date of January 1, when citizens turning 18 become eligible voters. During this process, draft rolls are published, followed by a claims and objections period lasting several weeks where political parties and voters can challenge inclusions or exclusions. The final rolls are then published by January 31, giving parties multiple opportunities annually to scrutinise and correct electoral data through established legal channels. It is likely these draft rolls that the EC was referring to, but did not specify in its statement on Saturday. The poll body will hold a press conference on Sunday featuring Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and both Election Commissioners, though officials have not specified the subject. People aware of the details said the commission will discuss 'recent issues and allegations' regarding the Bihar verification drive. Officials aware of the matter told HT that the presser is a response to the Opposition's concerns on SIR especially the Congress's. Gandhi has alleged 'vote chori (vote theft)' in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana, accusing the poll panel of voter data manipulation. On August 7, he claimed there were 100,250 'stolen' votes in Bangalore Central's Mahadevapura assembly segment that helped the BJP win the 2024 Lok Sabha seat, accusing the commission of 'colluding' with the ruling party. The presentation prompted an immediate reaction from the commission, which asked Gandhi to send a signed declaration and oath supporting his allegations. Commission officials have since urged Gandhi to either sign the oath or 'apologise' to the nation. The commission said it welcomes scrutiny. 'ECI continues to welcome the scrutiny of Electoral Rolls by Political Parties and any Elector. It will help SDMs/EROs to remove the errors and purify the Electoral Rolls which has always been the objective of ECI,' it stated.
