Demography Mission rollout amid raging debate over SIR
The announcement comes in the wake of the Opposition's allegations that the BJP is 'misusing' the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar to target immigrants, especially those belonging to the minority community.
In his Independence Day speech delivered from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi noted that India's forefathers made the supreme sacrifice to win freedom for the countrymen, and it is the duty of its citizens not to accept such influx of illegal foreign nationals.
'Today I want to alert the country about a concern, a challenge. Under a well-thought-out conspiracy, the demography of the country is being changed. Seeds of a new crisis are being sown. These 'ghuspaithiya' (intruders) are snatching the livelihood of the youth of my country, these 'ghuspaithiya' are targeting the sisters and daughters of my country and this will not be tolerated. These 'ghuspaithiya' are misleading the innocent tribals and grabbing their land. This country will not tolerate this,' Modi asserted.
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Indian Express
a few seconds ago
- Indian Express
As deadline to submit identity papers looms, some confused, others unaware: ‘Will my father bank passbook work?'
For the last 10 days, Kumar, a teacher, has been shuttling between his school and 'field duty' in a village in Sarairanjan Assembly constituency of Bihar's Samastipur district. A volunteer for the Election Commission of India, he has a list of about 120 women whom he has to help with documents to ensure they make it to the final electoral roll. 'I have prepared an all-woman list because they are the ones who are struggling for identity documents – both of themselves and their parents,' says Kumar, whose first name has been withheld to protect his identity. The second phase of Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — during which the EC has invited claims and objections to its draft electoral roll that was published on August 1 — ends on September 1. While data released by the EC showed over 7.24 crore people had submitted their enumeration forms, many had done so without uploading any of 11 documents mandated by the EC to establish proof of identity. With the EC giving people time until September 1, it's a race against time for both officials and voters to get the papers in order. But on the ground, among those who are yet to submit their papers, some are confused, others unaware. The 120 women on Kumar's list are those who have made it to the draft roll, but haven't uploaded any of the 11 supporting documents. According to the EC notification, those who don't figure on the 2003 electoral rolls of Bihar have to submit, besides the enumeration form, any one of a list of 11 documents to prove date and/or place of birth, and for those born after July 1, 1987, that of their parents as well. The EC has deployed an estimated 1 lakh volunteers — teachers, anganwadi workers and panchayat secretaries — to assist Booth Level Officers (BLO) and help electors get the required documents. Among those on Kumar's list of 120 is Pramila Devi, 38. Both Pramila and her husband Ramkumar Giri, a small farmer, had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. But since Pramila is not on the 2003 voter list, she has to submit two documents — one to establish her identity and another of either of her parents. 'I have a residential certificate but I have no clue how to get my parents' documents. They lived in Singhia block of Samastipur and died years ago,' she says. One of her acquaintances calls up the BLO, who suggests that she get a screenshot of the 2003 voter list with either of her parents' names on it. 'How do you get that? Will I not be allowed to vote if I don't get it?' Pramila wonders. Her husband is a voter on the 2003 list and has not made much of an effort to help his wife with the documents. Their son, Shravan Kimar, a Delhi University student, offers to help. 'I hadn't given it much thought yet. Let me see if I can get the booth number where my grandparents voted. I can then go to a cafe here and look for their name on the 2003 electoral list. We still have some time.' While Pramila is anxious, many such as Subodh Giri, 34, and his wife Radhiya Devi, 29, remain unaware that they need to furnish documents even though they have made it to the draft roll. Leaning against a thatched wall of his house, Subodh, a daily wager and a Class 7 dropout, says, 'We have given our Aadhaar cards and photographs. That should be enough. Anyway, our names are in (the draft roll),' he says. When asked if the BLO or any of the volunteers had approached them about the identity papers they need to submit, Subodh looks clueless. The Indian Express contacted one of the two BLOs in the village, who said there were about 500-odd voters from three polling booths in the village who are yet to submit their documents. The BLO said they had requested ward members to call a meeting of people who need help with their papers. The BLO then contacts Subodh and his wife and asks them to get their domicile certificates made and get a screenshot of the 2003 voter list with the name of either of Radhiya's parents. 'Thik hai, ab hum kaam par lag jaate hain (ok, we will get this done),' says Radhiya. Pramod Kumar Rai, 38, another resident of the village, too, has been struggling to get the right documents. His family originally belongs to Korbadha village in Samastipur, but Rai has been living in Sarairanjan since his childhood. His wife Baby Devi and he voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but the couple have now been told to get hold of documents to prove that their parents were voters in 2003. 'I visited the BLO twice to know what needed to be done. My wife found her father's name in the 2003 list, but I didn't find mine. I have submitted the 2003 list with my father's brother's name on it. I hope that works,' says Rai, a driver. Nearly 125 km from Samastipur, at Chitakohara in the Digha Assembly segment of Patna, Mukesh Kumar, a 40-year-old who works as a driver, is happy to have made it to the draft roll. When told that he will have to submit more documents since his name doesn't figure on the 2003 electoral rolls, Mukesh looks confused. He offers his Aadhaar card and driving licence, neither of which are among the 11 EC-mandated documents. No volunteer or official has contacted him or offered to help him with the documents. He then walks up to the village school where the BLO has set up a temporary office. 'Will my father's bank passbook work?' he asks the BLO. When told none of his documents work, he returns home, saying, 'Dekhte hain (let's see what I can do).' Mukesh eventually applied for a residential certificate.
Indian Express
a few seconds ago
- Indian Express
Tavleen Singh writes: August 15 musings
My deadline for this week's column fell on Independence Day. I woke early to catch every moment of the Prime Minister's speech because I believe it is the most important speech that prime ministers give. As I watched Narendra Modi mount those famous ramparts in a saffron turban, I remembered other prime ministers, other speeches. In days when security was not a problem I would toddle along to the Red Fort and sit in the humidity and heat among an audience of ordinary people who all felt the need on this day to invoke feelings of patriotism and pride. A truly memorable Red Fort moment was to listen to Indira Gandhi on August 15, 1975. This was barely six weeks after she had declared the Emergency, jailed Opposition leaders and made journalists like me redundant because of press censorship. I remember noticing that she had a nervous twitch on one side of her face and she looked scared. Probably because she must have just been given the news that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family had been massacred that day. The Bangladesh story was beginning to unravel in an ugly and violent way. To return to the present, may I say that I thought Narendra Modi began his speech in a prime ministerial way by painting a picture of India's future that was optimistic and hopeful. I liked very much to hear that there would be major economic and governance reforms coming and that by the end of this year we will see the first Indian-made chip on the market. But the speech was too long to be outstanding. He lost me when he switched to sarpanch mode, and meandered on about obesity and fitness. One big reason for Modi having become prime minister were his speeches. In 2013, during the Rajasthan election campaign, I remember wandering through remote villages in which people said they would vote for Modi next year. When I asked how they had heard of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, they said that they had heard his speeches on the radio and liked what he said. This was in that time when he was pitted against Dr Manmohan Singh, whose manner of speaking was usually too mild to be inspiring. In any case, he was, by then, acting as regent for Rahul Gandhi, who had just told the world that India was not a country but a beehive. Modi used this baffling comment to great effect in the general election in 2014. Twelve years on, the Prime Minister needs to find a speech writer who understands the word precis. Not even the world's greatest orators can hold an audience's interest for more than 45 minutes. If Modi continues to be seen as India's tallest leader today, it is because when compared with the Opposition leaders on offer, he seems instantly statesmanlike. Every time I watch our Opposition leaders protest outside Parliament, I become convinced that dynastic democracy must go. It is ridiculous that 40 per cent of our MPs are dynasts. This time, as I watched them march towards the Election Commission shouting slogans and behaving like schoolchildren, I noticed that it was as if they were on a family picnic instead of making a political point. This family picnic mood was heightened by the presence of the mummies and daddies of some of the sloganeering younger ones. Their cause was legitimate, their methods childish. They were right to try and get the Election Commission to understand that there was something seriously wrong with its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. And Rahul Gandhi made a valid case when he pointed out the glaring discrepancies in the electoral rolls of a constituency in Bangalore. The Election Commission has some answering to do. What mystifies me is why, if the BJP was being helped to cheat in elections, did they not cheat more efficiently and get a full majority in last year's general election? The BJP spokespersons in those screeching TV debates have done much harm to the Election Commission by speaking for it. It is not their job. And the BJP argument that it is wrong to attack a constitutional body is specious. There have been rigged elections in the past, especially in Kashmir and Bihar, and we in the media have pointed this out every time. What is worrisome about the revision going on in Bihar is that the documents being asked of some of our poorest citizens are documents they could not possibly have. This does not mean that 'democracy is dead' as Rahul Gandhi has declared ad nauseam for 10 years. It might mean that dynastic democracy's enormous privileges enjoyed by his own family are dead, but this means that democracy has gotten stronger, not weaker. One way or another, our Opposition leaders, when they next meet for chitchat and breaking bread together, should allow themselves a moment of deep introspection. If in election after election the Congress party, which is the only national opposition party, finds itself unable to persuade voters of its message it could be because there is no message to give. I may no longer be a Modi Bhakt but concede that although the Prime Minister's speech from the Red Fort was too long, its message was reassuring and unambiguous. It was a message that sought to convince Indian voters that their future is safe in his hands.
The Hindu
a few seconds ago
- The Hindu
BMC's ‘pot of sin' smashed, city to taste butter of progress, says Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday (August 16, 2025) signalled a major shift in Mumbai's civic politics, claiming that the BJP-led Mahayuti has exposed years of corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Speaking at Dahi Handi celebrations in Mumbai and Thane, Mr. Fadnavis said that the ruling alliance had broken the 'pot of sins' that protected those who plundered the civic body and was now focused on unlocking development for the city. Speaking to reporters, he said, 'Change is certain in the BMC. We have smashed the pot of sins of those who looted the corporation and now we have opened the pot of development for the people of Maharashtra. The butter from this pot will now reach the people.' In a pointed attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, the CM remarked, 'After so many years of looting, people of Maharashtra now know very well who was eating the butter from the Mumbai municipal corporation. I do not need to add more words.' His comments came a day after Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena would contest upcoming civic elections together. The undivided Shiv Sena had controlled the cash-rich BMC for 25 straight years until 2022. The Dahi Handi festival, celebrated across Maharashtra to mark Lord Krishna's birth, saw enthusiastic participation despite rains with govindas (participants) forming human pyramid to break the handi (pot). Folk music and dance like Lavani were organised across the State to mark the festivities like every year. In Dadar, a group of women also broke the pot and won a trophy. 'The govindas' spirit has not been dampened. We want everyone to celebrate the festivities with safety,' Mr. Fadnavis said. In Ghatkopar, BJP MLA Ram Kadam dedicated a dahi handi to the security personnel who took part in Operation Sindoor, India's retaliatory strike in Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. 'Just as our security forces broke Pakistan's handi of sins, we have dedicated the celebration to honour the bravery of our jawans who fought in the battle ground,' Mr. Fadnavis added. The Mahayuti government had recognised Dahi Handi as an adventure sport in 2022 and introduced insurance cover for the participants. Later in the day, addressing the govindas at the Tembi Naka Mitra Mandal event in Thane, Mr. Fadnavis praised Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and called him a 'true Shiv Sainik of Balasaheb Thackeray' who is carrying forward the legacy of late Sena leader Anand Dighe.
