Latest news with #BiharSpecialIntensiveReview
Hans India
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Attempts to tarnish ECI image can't deter it from being impartial: CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday reiterated the poll panel's commitment to impartiality, and dismissed allegations of 'vote chori', saying politics being done in the name of the ECI would not deter it from performing its constitutional obligations transparently. Describing the Bihar Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise as completely transparent, CEC Kumar said, 'Rumours are being spread about the exercise even though draft voter lists have already been given to political parties.' Either the parties' Booth Level Agents are not getting the draft voter list for verification, or politics is being done to target the ECI in an attempt to tarnish its image. 'There is no question of the ECI's image being tarnished as over seven crore voters and all stakeholders are standing firmly with the poll panel,' he said, adding that attempts to spread misinformation amount to disrespecting the Constitution. The ECI's media briefing came on a day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to highlight the alleged missing votes and manipulation in the voter list. Giving an update, the CEC said that in Bihar, since August 1, over one lakh new electors, who have turned 18 after the SIR exercise, have filed forms for inclusion in the voter list. Also, the election office has so far received 28,370 claims and objections from electors concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar The ECI concluded the enumeration phase of the SIR from June 24 to July 25. More than 7.24 crore electors -- out of a total of 7.89 crore -- submitted their enumeration forms during the exercise. At the end, about 65 lakh voters were found to be missing from the draft electoral rolls published on August 1. This included 22 lakh deceased electors (2.83 per cent), 36 lakh (4.59 per cent) who had permanently shifted or not found and seven lakh (0.89 per cent) who had enrolled at more than one place, ECI data showed. The SIR exercise in Bihar has been attacked by the Opposition parties over alleged irregularities, which they allege threaten to deprive lakhs of voters of their right to vote - a charge denied by the ECI. The poll panel published its draft electoral rolls on August 1 and has kept a window of one month for people, parties and their booth-level agents BLAs to bring their complaints and grievances regarding inclusion or exclusion from the draft electoral list. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has 47,506 BLAs, the Congress has 17,549, and the Left has over 2,000, all adding up to over 67,000. The ECI has been routinely reaching out to political parties to join the revision exercise and bring to its notice instances of disenfranchisement, if any. 'Submit your claims and objections to rectify any errors in the draft Electoral Roll of Bihar published on August 1. So far, not even a single claim or objection has been submitted by any political party,' the EC had said earlier. The ECI highlighted that between June 23 and July 25, the Congress has increased its BLAs to 17,549 (an increase of 105 per cent), Rashtriya Janata Dal to 47,506 (an increase of one per cent), Janata Dal (United) to 36,550 (an increase of 31 per cent) and BJP to 53,338 (an increase by 3 per cent).
India.com
a day ago
- Politics
- India.com
What is the use of Aadhaar card if it can't prove Indian citizenship? Know what other critical uses Aadhaar has
Representational Image Amid the ongoing debate over Aadhaar card not being a valid proof Indian citizenship, another critical question has arisen asking why the document is deemed mandatory in many cases when it cannot be used to prove the citizenship of a person. Here are some key uses of Aadhaar card for citizens. What are the uses of Aadhaar card? While Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship, it is however a proof of identity, providing each person living in India with a unique identification number, which cannot be the same for any two individuals. Aadhaar is mandatory to avail the benefits of government schemes as it ensures that the benefits are transferred to the individual whose name is registered under a particular scheme. Aadhaar card is used for KYC of bank accounts and to avail other financial and banking services such as loans, EMIs, etc. Aadhaar is also required to avail benefits like LPG subsidy, pension, and scholarships for students. The document can also be used to avail a new mobile connection. Why Aadhaar is not proof of Indian citizenship? During a recent hearing in the Bihar Special Intensive Review (SIR) case, the Election Commission of India (ECI) argued in the Supreme Court that the Aadhaar card is not considered a valid proof of Indian citizenship, reiterating the Union government's position on the matter, even though it is one of the most important documents in India, mandatory for availing key public and private services. According to the central government, Aadhaar is merely a proof of identity, not citizenship, and this difference was pointed out by the ECI during the July 10 hearing in the Supreme Court. The EC told the apex court that Aadhaar can't validate a person's citizenship. The apex court has also reiterated that Aadhaar cannot be considered a decisive document to prove Indian citizenship, and can only be used as a proof of identity and address.
India.com
3 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Bihar SIR row: EC agrees to share deleted voter list after SC rebuke, poll panel says 'caught between struggle of...'
(File) Bihar SIR Row: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday agreed to share the names of voters deleted in the Bihar Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise after the Supreme Court grilled the poll panel for not making the details public. 'Why can't you disclose the names' of people who have died, migrated, or shifted to other constituencies?,' the apex court asked. Why EC agreed to share list of deleted voters in Bihar SIR? The EC replied that it had already given the list of deleted names to the political parties in the state. 'Why can't you put these names on a display board or on a website? Those aggrieved can take remedial measures within 30 days,' the top court asked. The Supreme Court also urged the EC to issue a public notice detailing the list of websites or places where the panel will share the list of voters listed as dead, migrated or shifted in the state electoral rolls. What EC said on EVM manipulation claims? Meanwhile, the Election Commission rued that it is 'caught between the struggle of political parties' as parties consider electronic voting machines (EVMs) as good if they win, but the machine suddenly becomes the villain if a party loses the elections. 'Caught between struggle of political parties, if they win EVM is good, if they lose EVM is bad,' the apex poll body told a two-bench SC panel of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. The top court was hearing a plea challenging the EC's decision to conduct the SIR in Bihar. Bihar SIR row On August 13 (Wednesday), the Supreme Court observed that electoral rolls cannot remain 'static' and there is bound to be a revision, adding that the expanded list of acceptable documents of identity from seven to 11 for the Bihar SIR of voters' list was in fact 'voter-friendly and not exclusionary.' The court ruled that the EC had the residual power to conduct such an exercise as it deemed fit, and also disagreed with a submission by a petitioner that the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar had no basis in law and ought to be quashed. (With inputs from agencies)
