Watch: Advent of K-3 nomics in Bihar
Ahead of the State assembly election, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday (July 17, 2025) announced that up to 125 units of electricity would be free for consumers in the State starting from August 1. Mr. Kumar shared this information on social media platform 'X'.
In poll-bound Bihar, Mr. Kumar has so far made several big announcements, and free electricity is one of them. Earlier, on July 16, Mr. Kumar asked the Education Department to lay the ground for the fourth instalment of the Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE) by the Bihar Public Service Commission, under which more than one lakh teachers would be recruited.
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
After Giridhari, JD(U) MLA opposes ongoing SIR in Bihar
After Banka MP Giridhari Yadav, another leader belonging to the Janata Dal (United) has expressed reservations about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. Sanjeev Kumar, MLA from the Parbatta Assembly constituency, told The Hindu that voters who work outside the State may be left out of the SIR exercise. 'In my own Assembly constituency, many such names have been left out. The SIR should be conducted during festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Chhath, when people working outside the State return. I am unable to contact my voters. Their houses are locked and they come to Bihar once or twice a year,' Mr. Kumar said. He said many migrant workers won't be able to afford the costs of returning to Bihar more than once or twice a year. Mr. Kumar also said many migrant workers are bound by contracts that prevent them from travelling frequently. 'It is very unfortunate that such migrant workers' names would be removed and I think the Election Commission should do something about this,' Mr. Kumar said. As per the EC's official statement on Thursday, '99% electors have already been covered' by the exercise and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) had 'reported names of 21.6 lakh deceased electors and 31.5 lakh electors who have permanently migrated...., while 1 lakh electors are untraceable'. However, Mr. Kumar said, 'Even though the EC claims [to have covered] 99%, I am sure at least 1% of genuine voters have been removed. I think more time should have been given for this exercise. These are National Democratic Alliance [NDA] voters.' He stressed that all political parties in Bihar will face the heat as names of many genuine voters were likely to be removed from the voters' list. Meanwhile, JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar said the SIR should go ahead, but the EC was not the 'final authority'. 'The EC is not above the Parliament, they don't have the right to remove genuine voters from the list. The EC cannot dare to remove the names,' Mr. Anwar said. Senior JD(U) leader and Minister Shravan Kumar also accepted that people are facing difficulties, but expressed confidence that the EC will look into the problems being faced by the voters and resolve them with the help of political parties. AIMIM MLA hits out On Thursday, during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the State Assembly, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Akhtarul Iman raised concern over alleged discrimination against the Muslim population in the Seemanchal region. 'The BJP men by looking at our beards, caps and the minarets of our mosques, do not consider us Indians but as Bangladeshis. Let me say this... if Seemanchal had opted to join Pakistan during the partition, India would have been split into two parts,' Mr. Iman said. He also termed the SIR as Tughlaqi farman (diktat). 'In Bihar, only 14% people have the required documents and 70% of the poor people, consisting of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes do not have any documents. The EC has just issued a Tughlaqi farman to submit the documents,' Mr. Iman said. Meanwhile, police used water cannons against National Students' Union of India (NSUI) members attempting to gherao the Vidhan Sabha during their protest against the SIR exercise. Notice to Girdhari On Thursday, the JD(U) issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Yadav for raising questions on the SIR. In a conversation with The Hindu on July 23, Mr. Yadav had said poor people were finding it difficult to get the documents needed for the exercise. He had also raised questions about the timing of the revision and asked if the EC could have begun the SIR effort earlier. 'Our party, the Janata Dal (United), has consistently supported the EC and the use of EVMs, both during our time in the INDIA bloc and now as part of the NDA. Your public comments on such a sensitive matter, especially in an election year, not only cause embarrassment to the party but also inadvertently lend credibility to the baseless and politically motivated allegations made by the Opposition,' Afaque Ahmad Khan, National General Secretary and MLC said in the letter issued in the evening. He further said, 'JD(U) views your conduct as a lapse in discipline and not in consonance with the party's stated position on the matter. You are hereby called upon to show cause within 15 days of receipt of this notice, failing which disciplinary action may be initiated against you.'
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Over 61 lakh voters may be out of Bihar's draft electoral roll, says ECI data on the eve of SIR deadline
Over 61 lakh Bihar voters may not figure in the State's new draft electoral rolls, which are to be published on August 1. This includes seven lakh people who are yet to submit their enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, a day ahead of the July 25 deadline, according to Election Commission of India data released on Thursday (July 24, 2025). There are also 21.6 lakh deceased electors, 31.5 lakh people who have permanently shifted out of the State, seven lakh who have enrolled at more than one place, and one lakh who are 'untraceable', the ECI said. The poll body said in a statement that the enumeration forms of 7.21 crore electors (91.32%) have been received and digitised. All of their names will be included in the draft electoral roll. The remaining forms are also being digitised, along with reports from Booth Level Officers (BLO) and Booth Level Agents (BLA) to facilitate their verification during the claims and objections period. Bihar had 7,89,69,844 voters, according to the 2025 electoral rolls, which are now being revised through the SIR. Names can be included till September 1 As per the SIR order, after the publication of the new draft electoral roll, copies will be provided to all 12 major political parties in the State. The draft roll will also be available on the ECI's website. The booth-level lists of electors who have not filled their forms, of deceased electors, and electors who have permanently migrated had already been shared with all political parties on July 20, so that they can point out any errors. Any elector or any political party can file a claim in case of any missing names or raise an objection in case of any wrong inclusion till September 1. Thus, inclusion of names in the electoral roll will continue till September 1. 'Cannot allow ineligible people to vote' Faced with Opposition attacks against the SIR process, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar asked whether the ECI should allow the names of the dead and those who have migrated to other places to be included in the voters list. Allowing ineligible people to vote, first in Bihar and later in the entire country, is against the Constitution, Mr. Kumar said. 'On these questions, someday or the other, all of us and all the citizens of India will have to think deeply, going beyond political ideologies,' he added, defending the SIR. The Opposition has claimed that the move will disenfranchise crores of eligible citizens. Parliament remained stalled on Thursday as well over the issue.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Bihar showdown: RJD's Tejashwi Yadav claims Amit Shah no longer trusts Nitish Kumar's leadership; dares BJP to end speculation
File photo (Picture credit: ANI, PTI) NEW DELHI: RJD leader and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday claimed in the Bihar Assembly that Union home minister Amit Shah no longer has faith in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 's leadership. The statement triggered a stormy debate on the floor of the House, forcing the speaker to adjourn proceedings post-lunch. 'What is the reason behind Shah losing his trust in Kumar? He keeps saying that the upcoming assembly polls will be fought under the JD(U) president's leadership, but time will tell who would be the chief minister,' Yadav said during a debate on a cut motion moved by the opposition on the penultimate day of the monsoon session. As per news agency PTI, Yadav challenged the BJP to publicly back Kumar. 'If indeed Shah still has faith in Kumar's leadership, let him put to rest all speculation and declare that the chief minister will continue to occupy the seat of power till 2030. Let the home minister make this announcement during his upcoming tour of Sitamarhi,' Yadav said. Shah is scheduled to visit the district next month to lay the foundation stone for a temple dedicated to Goddess Sita. Attacking the ruling NDA government, the former deputy CM said it has become a 'rickety car' after 20 years in power. 'Even the central government has said that vehicles older than 15 years should be off the roads,' he quipped. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Great news for Filipinos! Read More Undo Yadav also accused Kumar of remaining silent on key issues and failing to pressure the Centre for a special economic package for Bihar, despite being part of the ruling NDA. 'The JD(U) has reduced itself to a cell of the BJP. A handful of people who are said to have the eyes and the ears of the CM are all working for the BJP,' he alleged. In a sharp attack on perceived nepotism, Yadav referred to JD(U) national general secretary Ashok Choudhary's claim that his son-in-law was appointed to the state board for religious trusts based on a recommendation from the RSS. 'People in the JD(U) have started speaking of an RSS quota,' he remarked. 'This NDA should now be called the National Damaad Aayog (Commission for Sons-in-law),' he added. The RJD leader also took aim at the Nitish-led government's recent promise of 125 units of free electricity, calling it a 'copycat' of RJD's pledge to provide 200 free units and stipends for women under a proposed 'Maai Bahen Yojana.' 'In due course, they will copy our other schemes too,' he claimed. Tensions escalated when Yadav raised concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission. 'Polling officials are throwing enumeration forms on the streets. Journalists who report such issues are slapped with FIRs,' he alleged. The remarks infuriated ruling NDA MLAs, leading to a noisy confrontation in the House. An NDA member was seen ripping off a desk mic and charging toward opposition benches, prompting Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav to adjourn the session till 4 pm. Later, outside the Assembly, Yadav accused BJP members of attempting a physical assault on him. 'BJP MLA Janak Singh hurled expletives at me. No one stopped him. Sanjay Singh also charged toward me. I was saved by my party colleagues,' he told reporters. Responding to a remark by deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, who alleged that 'contract killing is in RJD's DNA', Yadav shot back, 'I am ready to surrender my licensed weapon. The government can get me killed if that makes it happy.' Yadav's attack comes amid his warning that the RJD might boycott the upcoming Bihar elections if the SIR exercise is not scrapped. 'What is happening in the name of SIR is nothing short of fraud,' Yadav had said earlier. He accused the Election Commission of acting under 'remote control' from Delhi and claimed the exercise was aimed at deleting voter names selectively. JD(U) leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' called Yadav's boycott threat an admission of defeat. 'He knows they will lose. Their forgery has been exposed,' he said.
