Roll revision biggest attack on Constitution: CPI(ML)
Dipankar Bhattacharya
said here on Monday that the biggest attack on the country's Constitution, democracy and voting rights of people has been committed through the special intensive revision (SIR) of the state's electoral roll conducted by the
Election Commission
(EC).
He said from the existing electoral roll that had 7.90 crore enlisted electors, names of as many as 66 lakh electors have been removed by the EC in one month as part of the of the SIR exercise.
He was addressing the party's rally near the state legislature building, after the conclusion of the protest march from Buddha Smriti Park on Fraser Road to Satmurti.
"What the Election Commission has done through the SIR exercise is the biggest attack on the country's Constitution, democracy and citizens' rights to vote in the post-Independence period," Bhattacharya alleged.
"In the Constitution, each citizen is equal and every citizen enjoys voting rights," he said, adding: "But, today attempts are being made to snatch away those rights from the people of the country. People will come forward to defeat this design of the powers that be."
Bhattacharya said that most of those whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls are marginalised members of the society. "Several people are alive, but they have been declared dead and their names removed. As many as 36 lakh people of Bihar, who work outside the state have been dropped from the list. The 7 lakh others have been declared as having duplicate EPIC cards," he said.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
8 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Reforms are necessary to bolster electoral integrity
The Election Commission's attempts to strength the credibility of India's democratic process by means of an extensive revision of the electoral rolls has unfortunately devolved into yet another partisan fight on the political stage. As the EC has embarked on a special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists beginning in Bihar as the State heads to the polls in a few months, Opposition parties tried to march to the commission's office in New Delhi on August 11 in protest. These critics, quick to push back against proposed schemes to enhance the accuracy and credibility of the electoral rolls, are also quick to point to inaccuracies and duplicates within the list and brand it as electoral fraud and 'vote chori (theft)'. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, held a press conference on August 7 to deliver a presentation accusing the EC of voter fraud in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Similar allegations have been made with respect to the Maharashtra Assembly election also. The EC is constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections. This is no easy task to administer in the largest democracy in the world with nearly one billion eligible voters. India's electoral process has been reformed and improved drastically since its first elections in 1951-52. Further reforms are no doubt necessary in bolstering electoral integrity. As the EC itself announced, a number of factors make intensive revision of electoral rolls necessary, including India's frequent inter- and intra-State migration, new voters, and the non-reporting of deaths. But to attack both the commission's past performance and its future proposals for reform as a means of scoring political points is deeply unhelpful, adding only to toxic political noise. Aadhaar link The EC's plans to strengthen India's electoral systems, including revising the rolls and linking Aadhaar to the elector photo ID card (EPIC), are neither new nor politically motivated. For over a decade, the commission has consistently advocated for electronic identification systems as a tool to eliminate two of the most persistent challenges facing the country's electoral process: duplicate entries and voter impersonation. As early as 2015, the EC launched the National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) to identify and remove duplicate entries. Linking EPIC and Aadhaar was part of this technical approach. Over four years, the EC repeatedly submitted technical and legal proposals to government advocating for biometric authentication to improve roll accuracy. The EC's announcement in March this year that it had set the ball rolling for linking Aadhaar with EPIC, therefore, has deep roots. 'One citizen, one vote' is the foundation of India's democracy. The Aadhaar-EPIC linkage will be key in protecting this, from removing duplicate voters to preventing impersonation on polling day. But individual data privacy is a concern. The EC and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) must act to ensure protection of personal data, safeguarding the secure management and protection of Aadhaar-linked voter data. The protests of August 11 reveal fundamental inconsistencies in the Opposition's positioning. Parties simultaneously highlight alleged instances of voter fraud in Karnataka, while opposing measures being rolled out in Bihar that could address documented vulnerabilities. This approach serves neither democratic integrity nor voter interests. These critical voices should, in fact, be applauding the efforts of the EC and its SIR of voter lists. The 'evidence' of 2024 electoral fraud as posited by Opposition figures — from duplicate names to multiple voters in single addresses and invalid addresses — will be weeded out by this process. The Aadhaar-EPIC linkage will further cement the accuracy and credibility of the voter rolls. Bipartisan interest Electoral integrity transcends partisan interests. When documented vulnerabilities persist while potentially comprehensive solutions face resistance that is driven by petty politics, democracy suffers. The continuation of India's long tradition of free and fair elections is dependent on an accurate electoral roll — something that requires constant and intensive revision, and which can only be administered by the EC. It will not be an easy task. All parties, regardless of politics, have a duty to work collaboratively to find technically sound solutions that safeguard both the rights of citizens and Indian democracy. For a challenge such as this, serious debate is needed, not political posturing. Ritesh Pandey belongs to the BJP and is a former MP for Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh; views expressed are personal
India.com
8 minutes ago
- India.com
Who is Jalaluddin, who wants to replace Jagdeep Dhankhar? Files nomination for the Vice-Presidential election
New Delhi: Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post of Vice President of India on 21 July 2025, citing health concerns. Now, as the nomination process for the post of Vice President is on, a man from Rajasthan has entered the fray. He is a 38-year-old resident of Jaisalmer, Jalaluddin. Jalaluddin reached the Rajya Sabha on Monday, 11 August and filed his nomination papers with a deposit amount of Rs 15 thousand. Who is Vice Presidential candidate Jalaluddin? Jalaluddin is currently studying at Haridev Joshi Journalism University in Jaipur. Jalaluddin's inclination towards politics is not new. Earlier in 2009, he had contested the Ward Panch election from Jaisalmer district, which he lost by just one vote. Even after this, his enthusiasm did not decrease. He filed the nomination from the Jaisalmer Assembly seat in 2013 and from the Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha seat in 2014, although he withdrew the form both times. Why is Jalaluddin contesting the Vice-Presidential election? Now, when the nomination process for the Vice-Presidential election to be held on September 9 started after the resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Jalaluddin also decided to participate in it and filed his nomination with the Election Commission on August 11. Jalaluddin says, 'I am fond of contesting elections. I know that my nomination will be cancelled, but I have still filed my nomination.' Why will Jalaluddin's nomination be rejected? Jalaluddin's nomination for the post of Vice President can be rejected due to technical flaws. During the verification of documents by the Election Commission, it was found that the certified copy of the electoral roll given by Jalaluddin was of an old date. According to the rules of the Election Commission, the nomination is automatically rejected due to such a mistake. When is the Vice-Presidential election scheduled for? The Election Commission has issued the notification for filing the nomination for the Vice-Presidential election. Nominations for the office of vice president can be filed till 21 August, and the election will be held on 9 September. This will be the 17th Vice Presidential election. The Vice-President is elected by an Electoral College, which consists of the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The counting of the votes will be held on 9 September.
The Hindu
8 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Modi should strongly oppose U.S. imposing 50% tariff, says Chief Minister Stalin
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said in Chennai on Tuesday that the BJP-led Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should strongly oppose the U.S. imposing 50% tariff on Indian imports and both should be open about their position. He was speaking at an event organised jointly by the National Committee of Solidarity with Cuba in India and the CPI(M). When five rounds of trade negotiations between India and the U.S. were completed and a date was being finalised for the sixth round, 'Why should U.S. President [Donald] Trump arbitrarily announce the imposing of additional tariff?', Mr. Stalin asked. Referring to the repeated claims of Mr. Trump that he was behind the ceasefire between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Mr. Stalin said: 'When the Opposition parties raised queries over that in both Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Modi did not answer at all. It symbolises his weakness.' Observing that there was a crisis across the world, where there is a need to crush imperialism, Mr. Stalin said imperialist conspiracies did not mean only wars. 'The U.S. imposing 50% tariff on imports from India is also one such conspiracy,' he asserted. 'The BJP-led Union government should strongly oppose this. The Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should provide a transparent reply to this,' Mr. Stalin said. Takes a dig at EPS Talking about the politics in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Stalin said AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami had developed a new found love for the Communists in recent days. Contending that people spoke about random topics, Mr. Stalin asked whether Mr. Palaniswami could speak about 'slavery'. 'I want to tell him that none is a slave to nobody. Everyone is wondering if Mr. Palaniswami reads newspapers. Even so, you would surely not read Theekkathir [considered a mouthpiece of the CPI(M)]. If you had read it, you would not be speaking like this. I read Theekkathir every day,' he said. Mr. Stalin said he listened to what Communist leaders spoke whenever he had time. 'They have not stopped flagging issues just because we are in an alliance, and I have not ignored the issues that they have highlighted. Because, half of us are communists. After all, my name is Stalin,' he asserted. Mr. Stalin added: 'We know how to distinguish pointing out with a friendly demeanour from deliberate defamation with ulterior motives. Even this stage symbolises our ideological clarity and friendship.' Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, Cuban Ambassador to India Juan Carlos Marsán Aguilera, CPI(M) leaders M.A. Baby, K. Balakrishnan, U. Vasuki, and P. Shanmugam, CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan, Director of The Hindu Publishing Group N. Ram, former MP T.K. Rangarajan, National Committee of Solidarity with Cuba's State secretary A. Arumuga Nainar were present.
