Not a court: P Chidambaram's swipe at poll body over notice to Rahul Gandhi
He also said the poll body not only owes a duty to the political parties, but to the voters of the country as well. Chidambaram's tweet comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was asked by Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to submit documents supporting his allegation that a voter cast her ballot twice in last year's Lok Sabha elections.In the letter, the CEO referred to Gandhi's recent press conference, where he claimed that certain documents in his presentation were 'EC data' and alleged that voter Shakun Rani had voted twice based on records 'given by the polling officer.' The letter mentioned Rahul Gandhi saying, 'Es ID card par do baar vote laga hai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer ki hai. (This ID has been used to vote twice, the tick marks were made by polling booth officer)'.'You are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed enquiry can be conducted,' the letter said.On Monday, the Members of Parliament from the opposition INDIA bloc will march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and alleged election malpractices.The MPs will be led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has demanded that the election commission release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them."Vote Chori is an attack on the foundational idea of 'one man, one vote'. A clean voter roll is imperative for free and fair elections. Our demand from the EC is clear - be transparent and release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them," tweeted Rahul Gandhi.- EndsMust Watch
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India.com
3 minutes ago
- India.com
'Will address street dog issue with empathy': Delhi govt amid protests against SC directive
Delhi cm rekha gupta- File image New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to relocate all stray dogs to shelters, the city government on Tuesday said it will address the issue with 'compassion and empathy', even as animal rights activists hit the streets against the directive. Several politicians and celebrities, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, and filmmaker Siddharth Anand have expressed their disapproval of the order. While the Delhi government said it would seek suggestions from stakeholders before framing a detailed plan to relocate street dogs, officials noted the civic bodies will start the process of implementing the apex court's order in a phased manner after Independence Day. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the relocation strategy. 'We will have to look into our resources available and also allocate a budget for the campaign. We will plan a detailed campaign and take action accordingly,' an NDMC official told PTI. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Supreme Court directive was a step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy, and stressed that 'blanket removals are cruel, shortsighted, and strip us of compassion'. Former Lok Sabha MP Varun Gandhi termed the SC directive 'institutionalisation of cruelty' and said that 'nations face deeper moral crises when they step away from empathy'. His mother, Maneka Gandhi, animal rights activist and former Union minister, on Monday called the SC directive 'impractical', 'financially unviable' and 'potentially harmful' to the region's ecological balance. On Tuesday, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) vehicles were seen picking up stray dogs from several locations. However, officials clarified that this was not related to the court order, but part of usual Independence Day preparations and the dogs will be released after the celebrations. Animal lovers and caregivers from across the national capital staged a protest against the apex court's order on Tuesday, saying the move would harm street dogs and disrupt the bond they share with communities. The protest, held at Connaught Place, saw participants holding placards that read 'Beware: Kaal Bhairav is watching' and 'Stop relocation, we stand in solidarity against the SC verdict'. Many displayed a picture of Lord Shiva with a dog seated beside him, symbolising the cultural and spiritual connection between humans and animals. Some were in tears, urging authorities to 'please let them be free, they are like small kids.' About 15 animal rights activists were detained by the police and taken to a nearby police station. During the protest, there was also a scuffle between animal lovers and police personnel. Protesters argued that dogs should not be confined to shelters, pointing out that people often feed them only on specific religious occasions when priests advise it. The top court on Monday directed all the strays to be removed and put in shelters by the Delhi government and civic bodies of Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that there was an 'extremely grim' situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children. Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra, whose animal husbandry department will supervise the implementation of the SC order in the city, said the BJP government will address the stray dog issue with 'compassion and empathy'. 'We will hold a review meeting with different stakeholder departments in a couple of days. The Supreme Court has given a detailed order listing out various directions like making a helpline and shelter homes, among. 'It is a long-term exercise, and we do not want to get into it unprepared. We will properly do our research for two weeks and then start putting our plans into place,' Mishra told PTI. A senior official said the Delhi government has already started informal interactions with animal welfare bodies and activists to seek their suggestions. 'Before the Supreme Court order, the government was holding meetings to formalise a policy, but the apex court's directions have provided an outline of steps that need to be taken,' he said. An MCD official said that work on the process of relocating street dogs will begin only after next week. Another senior civic official confirmed that it will start after August 15. 'Till that time, no major work will take place because this process requires detailed planning. It has to be done in a phased manner, not in a day,' the official added. According to official data from the MCD, around 10,000 sterilisation and immunisation procedures for stray dogs are carried out on average each month. Thirteen NGOs are currently operating at 20 animal birth control centres in the city. No new proposals have been finalised yet, officials said. Some animal birth control centres in the city reported a surge in calls requesting rescue of stray dogs as well as reporting people abandoning their pet canines, while others said the situation remains unchanged. Ayesha Christine Benn from Neighbourhood Woof, an animal birth control centre, told PTI that they had been asked not to return dogs brought in for sterilisation to their original locations. Meanwhile, Krishna Devi, whose six-year-old niece Chhavi Sharma died after a stray dog attack in June, said, 'We don't want even our enemies to go through what we underwent. With the Supreme Court's decision, we believe that our child's death has not gone in vain.' 'I feel that my child is the change. I hope there are no more Chhavis who are hurt elsewhere. Nobody should go through the cruel fate we underwent,' Chhavi's aunt Devi told PTI.
The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
‘124-year-old' Minta Devi wants poll body to rectify age goof-up
Siwan's Minta Devi, who became the face of the Opposition's protest against the Election Commission on Tuesday (August 12, 2025), said she was not aware that her age in the electoral roll was recorded as 124 years. She urged the poll panel to correct it. Several Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, wore a T-shirt with Ms. Devi's face printed on it while protesting outside the Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar. The Opposition leaders alleged voter fraud in various constituencies and cited Ms. Devi's case to highlight 'irregularities'. 'I do not know what is going on in the Parliament, but my date of birth mentioned in the Aadhaar card is July 15, 1990. I had given my Aadhaar to my brother-in-law who had applied online for the voter I-card two months ago,' she said. The application was made in Siwan. 'However, when I received my voter card, I did not check it. It was only when the media met me that I saw my date of birth was printed as July 15, 1900. It is the mistake of the person who has issued the voter card,' Ms. Devi said, adding that she has never voted before. She said no Booth Level Officer contacted her during the SIR. 'Those who are responsible for this blunder should rectify it and issue me a fresh voter I-card. I have not made any mistakes,' Ms. Devi said. Ms. Devi is a resident of Arjaanipur village and a voter registered in the Daraunda Assembly constituency of Siwan district. Her husband, Dhananjay Kumar Singh, is an e-rickshaw driver. The Siwan District Magistrate's office issued a press statement saying that the age shown in Ms. Devi's voter card was due to a 'human error' and it was made by her husband while filing the online form. The process of correction has already started, the statement said. 'Deputy Election Officer, Siwan, Sohail Ahmed has received the information that in polling station number 94, Siwan block under 109 Darauda Legislative Assembly constituency, Minta Devi, husband-Dhananjay Kumar Singh had filled the online application form for adding the name through Form-06,' the statement said. Ms. Devi's father-in-law Tej Bahadur Singh alleged that the BLOs were not going door-to-door for verification. 'The BLOs filled most of the enumeration form on their own. If they would have visited our house, we could have told them about the number of family members and their age,' he said.
The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Assam Congress begins training booth level agents in anticipation of SIR
With Assam administration indicating that the State will soon be holding Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi said that the party has begun the process of recruiting and training its Booth Level Agents (BLAs). The SIR is currently underway in Bihar and the Election Commission (EC) has indicated that it will be held across the country. 'So far we have registered close to 28,880 BLAs. We have also started a training programme for these agents. On Sunday, we concluded one round of training. At the end of the month, we will hold a week-long training programme. In the first module, we are briefing them on how voter list manipulation has been undertaken in Maharashtra and in Karnataka. We will show them the evidence that Rahul Gandhi's team had provided,' Mr. Gogoi told The Hindu. The party is also prepping up its legal team to support the BLAs to file objections and claims. The SIR exercise in Assam, Mr. Gogoi said, will be particularly difficult because of the demographic complexities, which he accused the BJP government of further complicating. 'NRC in limbo' 'The NRC (National Register of Citizens) remains in a limbo in Assam. The BJP government is not willing to address the issue of foreigners since they have no solutions to offer. Instead with the Citizenship Amendment Act, they have issued guidelines by which several Bengali speaking people have to give a written affidavit that they are from Bangladesh to apply under the Act,' he said. Instead of identifying illegal Bangladeshis as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed, Mr. Gogoi pointed out that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, today says that he is unable to address the issue. 'Instead of making Assam safe and secure, he is absolving himself of responsibility and wants to distribute guns to the people,' he said.
