logo
Fight against SIR is to protect people's right to vote: Mallikarjun Kharge

Fight against SIR is to protect people's right to vote: Mallikarjun Kharge

His remarks came as top opposition leaders were stopped from taking out a march to the Election Commission office to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the protest against 'vote chori' and SIR is a fight to protect people's right to vote and a struggle to save democracy, and asserted the INDIA alliance will expose BJP's "conspiracy".
His remarks came as top opposition leaders were stopped from taking out a march to the Election Commission office to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.
In a post on X, he said, "BJP's cowardly dictatorship will not work!".
"This is a fight to protect the people's right to vote. This is a struggle to save democracy," he said.
"The allies of the INDIA coalition will surely expose this BJP conspiracy to shred the Constitution," Kharge said in his post in Hindi.
Kharge was among those who participated in the Opposition MPs protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission office.
The protesting MPs were prevented by the police from moving forward and were detained and taken away in buses.
Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were among the top leaders detained by police while taking out the march.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bihar SIR: EC data unclear if electors filing fresh applications are missing in draft rolls or are first time voters
Bihar SIR: EC data unclear if electors filing fresh applications are missing in draft rolls or are first time voters

The Hindu

time2 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Bihar SIR: EC data unclear if electors filing fresh applications are missing in draft rolls or are first time voters

Ten days after the publication of draft electoral rolls in Bihar, nearly 64,000 applications have been filed for fresh registration of voters, according to the Election Commission data on Tuesday (August 12, 2025). What is not clear though is that out of the total 63,571 Form 6 applications filed, there is no information on how many are first-time voters who have attained 18 years and how many are electors who had not filled the enumeration forms leading to their names not getting included in the draft rolls published on August 1. Form 6 is the application for inclusion of names in electoral rolls. According to Rule 13(a) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1961 on 'Form for claims and objections': 'Every claim shall be in Form 6 and signed by the person desiring his name to be included in the roll'. Thus, it is this form that new voters who have turned 18 years or above use for registration in electoral rolls. Political parties on the ground in Bihar have claimed that when one is not able to find their name in the draft rolls, people are approaching the registration officials concerned and are being directed to fill Form 6, which means that if a person has been voting for decades, but their name is excluded from the draft list, then they will have to fill up Form 6 afresh. And when the new electoral roll will be published, their name will be published in the new voter's column. So, it will be nearly impossible to figure out how many genuinely new voters were added in the electoral roll and how many were old voters. According to former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, this situation 'can be because the exercise of Special Intensive Revision in Bihar is being treated as a preparation of electoral rolls de novo and names not in draft rolls are not being treated as a case of deletion, but rather a case of application for inclusion'. 'Thus, in the usual process of revision of rolls, a notice is served on the person whose name is deleted which is not considered necessary here by the ECI as per their statement to the court. It is only after the publication of the final electoral rolls on September 25 that the DEOs would consider appeals against the decision of EROs and based on their decision, changes made in the electoral roll will be separately reflected,' he told The Hindu. The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard a batch of petitions challenging the Bihar SIR exercise. In the previous hearing, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi cautioned the poll body that the court would 'not hesitate to act' if the revised list reflected 'mass exclusions'. The petitioners have criticised the SIR process as a form of 'citizenship screening'. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which has challenged the EC's June 24 order directing the SIR, last week moved a fresh application seeking directions to the poll panel to publish the names of roughly 65 lakh deleted voters, along with the reasons for deletion. The EC had responded that while the list of deleted voters has been provided to political parties on the ground, it was not bound to give the segregated list specifying the reasons for each deletion. It also said that no names would be deleted from the draft list without specifying the grounds for removal. According to EC data released on Tuesday, 63,571 Form 6 applications along with declarations had been received from new electors on attaining 18 years of age or above, while claims and objections received directly from electors with respect to the draft rolls for inclusion of eligible electors and exclusion of ineligible electors was 13,97,034 out of which 341 had been disposed of.

BJP hits back at Congress on resto bar issue in Puducherry
BJP hits back at Congress on resto bar issue in Puducherry

The Hindu

time2 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

BJP hits back at Congress on resto bar issue in Puducherry

Hitting back at the Congress party for its criticism against the AINRC-BJP alliance government on issues related to the functioning of resto bars in Puducherry, BJP president V. P. Ramalingam said the previous Congress government too had promoted resto bars in the Union Territory. Addressing a press conference for the first time after taking over the reigns of BJP's Puducherry unit, Mr. Ramalingam said the recent murder of a college student at a resto bar was an unfortunate incident. The police have taken action in the murder case and permits issued to 13 resto bars have been cancelled after the murder following complaints of violation of rules by the liquor outlets. The BJP would offer its support if the Chief Minister initiated steps to control the functioning of bars near educational institutions and religious places, he said. 'The licences were given as part of activities for tourism promotion but if there was a necessity to regulate the functioning of resto bars, the party would extend its support to the move. The former Chief Minister and Congress leader, V. Narayanasamy, has no right to criticise our government as permits to start resto bars were given by the Congress government too. The people of the Union Territory are well aware of the functioning of the Congress government and they are not going to vote for the party in the upcoming election,' he said. The newly-appointed BJP spokesperson, Arul Murugan, who was present at the press conference, added that four licences had been issued, including to a former Congress MLA, when Mr. Narayanasamy was the Chief Minister. To a question on reports of strain in the BJP's alliance with the AINRC, Mr. Ramalingam said the alliance would continue beyond the next Assembly election. 'There was no problem in the alliance and the Chief Minister has not complained of anything,' he noted. On the AIADMK's charge that BJP leaders were distributing welfare assistance in constituencies from where the AINRC and the AIADMK candidates contested during the last Assembly poll, the BJP president said every party would work towards strengthening its base. 'But once the candidates are announced by the alliance leaders, all will work together for the candidate. Strengthening of all allies in every constituency will ensure victory of the alliance,' he said. Earlier in the day, the BJP took out a rally in the town as part of 'Har Ghar Tiranga,' ahead of Independence Day celebrations. The party would organise various programmes to instil patriotism in the minds of the people till August 15.

Kolkata Police's notice to BJP MLA Ashok Dinda, party leaders over RG Kar protest
Kolkata Police's notice to BJP MLA Ashok Dinda, party leaders over RG Kar protest

India Today

time2 minutes ago

  • India Today

Kolkata Police's notice to BJP MLA Ashok Dinda, party leaders over RG Kar protest

Kolkata Police have issued notices to BJP MLA Ashok Dinda, councillor Sajal Ghosh, North Kolkata party president Tamaghno Ghosh, Bhola Sonkar, Kushal Pandey, and Kamaljit Singh in connection with cases linked to the Nabanna Abhiyan protest on August said several cases were registered for 'breaking the law' during the march to the state secretariat, held to demand justice for the postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year. The protest marked the first anniversary of the incident and saw large-scale unrest in Kolkata and cases — five by Kolkata Police and two by Howrah Police — were lodged in connection with the violence. Four FIRs were registered at New Market police station and one at Hare Street police station against leaders and supporters of the BJP. One case at Hare Street police station was for 'violating Calcutta High Court orders' by diverting the procession route, as well as for 'obstruction in a public way' and 'disobedience to a lawful order from a public servant'. Cases at New Market police station included charges of creating a ruckus at a political party's Rakhi stall, 'brutally assaulting a police constable' causing head injuries, vandalising the hawkers' union office, damaging a media person's camera, and confining said they are also moving the competent court to register two more cases against party leaders and supporters after obtaining necessary permissions. The investigation is ongoing.- EndsTrending Reel

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