Latest news with #EC
New Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Rahul slams special roll revision in Bihar, says EC caught ‘red handed'
NEW DELHI: Stepping up his attack on Election Commission (EC), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the EC has been caught 'red handed' stealing votes in the name of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, and asked whether the poll body has completely become BJP's 'Election chori branch'. The EC has all along maintained that the revision, being held after 22 years, will cleanse the voters' list of ineligible people, duplicate entries and include those eligible as per law. Gandhi shared a post by Ajit Anjum, whose YouTube channel is running a series on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. 'The EC in Bihar has been caught red handed stealing votes in the name of 'SIR'. Work - just theft but name is 'SIR' and FIR will be lodged against the one who exposes it!' Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. 'Is EC still 'Election Commission' or has it completely become BJP's 'Election Chori' branch?' the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Anjum has been accused of spreading communal tensions in Begusarai district by the local administration. He had denied the allegation and shared a screenshot of an FIR lodged against him.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Hans India
EC's SIR diabolical move to rig polls: Cong
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Bihar is a "deliberate and diabolical" move to rig elections through large-scale disenfranchisement, with Rahul Gandhi asking whether the poll body has completely become the BJP's "Election Chori branch". Gandhi claimed that the Election Commission (EC) had been caught "red-handed" stealing votes in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The EC has all along maintained that the revision, being held after 22 years, will cleanse the voters' list of ineligible people, duplicate entries and include those eligible according to law to vote. Gandhi shared a post by Ajit Anjum, whose YouTube channel is running a series on SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Like giving Louis Vuitton to the starving': NGT slams DPCC for spending green fund on ads
Even as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) collected around Rs 130.53 crore as the Environment Compensation (EC) fund between April 2015 and June 30 this year, the regulatory body has spent only Rs 59.39 crore so far. While there was no expenditure on air pollution monitoring in 2024–25, a total amount of Rs 8.2 crore was spent on 'advertising and printing' during the period. 'How is an advertisement helpful for the environment?' the National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the DPCC Thursday as it analysed the submissions and rapped the regulatory authority over its spending pattern. Drawing an analogy, the bench constituted by Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Dr Afroz Ahmad made another sharp remark as it said the expenditure on ads is like 'giving Louis Vuitton vouchers to a starving person' — a reference to cosmetic and misdirected use of funds while the core problem persists. Invoking the principle of inter-generational equity, the bench said the misuse of EC funds undermines long-term ecological justice. According to the data submitted by the DPCC in the green court, it registered a steep rise in expenditure under the category — 'honorarium for oversight committee or technical consultants' (Rs 5.7 crore) in 2024-25, a jump from Rs 0.2 crore in the previous year. Last year, DPCC had spent Rs 15.09 lakh on air pollution monitoring and Rs 3.6 crore on 'advertising and printing'. In a marked exception, while no expenditure was incurred for the rejuvenation of water bodies from 2015 to 2023-24, the year 2024-25 saw a spending of Rs 19.62 crore — the highest in all categories. Other areas where EC funds, collected from violators of environmental laws, are generally used are research and study projects, procurement of instruments for labs, installing recycling units in government schools, and setting up noise monitoring stations, among others. The green court was hearing a plea filed in 2022 on air pollution caused by a hot mix plant in West Delhi's Najafgarh, and had asked the DPCC to provide details of the EC funds. The NGT also sought the details of the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for the utilisation of such funds in a December 2023 order. While DPCC submitted a SOP on June 3 for timely EC recovery and utilisation, the Tribunal, remaining unconvinced, noted a serious gap between policy and implementation. Even as the DPCC counsel cited awareness under Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines as justification on Thursday, the Tribunal appeared dissatisfied and countered that 'the purpose of EC is twofold: to deter potential violators… and to remediate actual environmental damage' — neither of which is achieved through disproportionate spending on publicity. The NGT said the pattern emerging in multiple cases showed the EC is often not realised or, even when collected, remains unutilised for extended periods, causing irreversible environmental damage. The NGT has asked its Registry 'to list all pending cases involving EC fund utilisation' before the bench before the next hearing in August. Meanwhile, the DPCC stated in its submission that it issued the SOP 'to streamline the procedure for imposition or recovery, or realisation of EC'. Counsel for the DPCC and Secretary, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) will have to furnish responses too.
News18
2 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
Over 5.76 lakh Bihar electors enrolled at multiple places: EC data
New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The Election Commission (EC) has so far found that over 5.76 lakh electors in Bihar are enrolled at multiple places and over 12.55 lakh have probably died. As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voters' list continues, official data also states that out of nearly 7.90 crore electors, over 35.69 lakh were not found at their addresses during the house-to-house visit of booth-level officers. According to data, over 17.37 lakh electors have probably permanently shifted. The poll authority underlined that the figures will change in the coming days. On July 14, the poll panel had said that as on that date, the names of over 6.60 crore or 83.66 per cent of the total 7.89 crore electors of Bihar will be included in the draft electoral roll to be published on August 1. The figures would change later. The list will include all electors whose forms have been received by the deadline. Focused efforts through newspaper advertisements and direct contact are being made with electors who may have temporarily migrated out of the state to ensure that they are able to fill their enumeration forms (EFs) well in time and have their names also included in the draft roll. The EC said as of Thursday, 89.7 per cent of the existing electors (7.08 crore) have given their EFs to be included in the draft electoral roll. To re-verify the electors who have not been found at their addresses even after three visits of BLOs, the information on such persons who are probably deceased, permanently shifted or have enrolled at multiple places is being shared with district presidents of political parties and the 1.5 lakh booth-level agents appointed by them so that the exact status of such electors can be confirmed by them before July 25. Special camps are also being set up in all the 5,683 wards of all 261 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Bihar to facilitate the voters. PTI NAB KSS KSS view comments First Published: July 18, 2025, 00:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
5.8% Bihar voters yet to submit poll forms
File photo NEW DELHI: Only 45.8 lakh voters, or 5.8% of Bihar's 7.9 crore electorate, are yet to submit their enumeration forms as part of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in state, with eight days to go before the July 25 deadline. EC Thursday said close to 7.1 crore or 89.7% forms have been submitted, while 4.5% electors were not found at their addresses, possibly on account of being deceased, permanently shifted or enrolled at multiple places. The details of electors not found at their recorded addresses, even after three mandatory visits by BLOs, will be shared with district presidents and booth level agents of political parties from Friday onwards to confirm the exact status of such electors before the July 25 deadline for submitting enumeration forms. All electors whose enumeration forms are received before July 25 will figure in the draft electoral roll to be published on Aug 1. Any elector can also check the status of their enumeration form either on ECINet app or on EC's voters' portal. EC continues to reach out to temporary migrants working or living outside Bihar, urging them to fill enumeration forms online using their mobile phones, through ECINet app or They can also download the pre-filled enumeration form and share their filled forms with BLOs directly or through family via WhatsApp or any other medium, it said Thursday. EC will be filing its response in SC by July 21 to its direction to consider including Aadhaar , EPIC No. and ration card in the list of documents accepted as part of SIR. Interestingly, as reported by TOI earlier, EPIC is pre-printed on the enumeration form of each of the 7.9 crore electors in Bihar; the form also has a field seeking Aadhaar number, though furnishing the same is optional for the elector.
