Latest news with #ElectoralRolls
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
West Bengal's 2002 SIR electoral roll appears on CEO site amidst speculations of fresh voter list revision
Amid speculations of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted for West Bengal's electoral roll, the 2002 voters' list of some districts has been made available online on the website of the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Reportedly, the last SIR of the voters' list in West Bengal was conducted in 2002. Bihar SIR row hearing LIVE: SC not to stop the publication of draft roll on August 1 This development assumes significance considering that in Bihar, the last SIR was conducted in 2003 and the electoral roll of that year has been kept as a reference point for the submission of identification documents for the SIR of 2025. 'The ease of availability of 2003 Electoral Rolls of Bihar, would hugely facilitate the ongoing SIR in Bihar as now nearly 60% of the total electorate, would not have to submit any documents,' a release on the Election Commission of India dated June 30 reads. Speculations around an SIR in West Bengal further intensified in political circles after Saturday (July 26, 2025), when a Presidency Division Level Training Programme was conducted at Kolkata's Nazrul Mancha for Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Supervisors and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Howrah, Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas. In the training materials handed out to the participants, a passage on 'duties of BLO in SIR' mentioned carrying enumeration forms with printed details of existing electors, ID cards, and a stationery kit bag labelled Special Intensive Revision. 'Every BLO has to conduct one SIR in their lifetime. SIRs have been conducted many times in the past. It was carried out between 1952 and 2004. The training session held today does not indicate SIR,' the CEO, however, said to local presspersons on Saturday (July 26, 2025), adding that the ECI will notify if an SIR is to be conducted in the State. Meanwhile, on Monday (July 28, 2025), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, at an administrative meeting at West Bengal's Birbhum district, asked district authorities to ensure 'no one is harassed and genuine voters are not removed in the name of voter list revision.' 'In case of voters' lists, please see to it that people do not get harassed. Genuine voters should not be harassed. And, if you receive any instructions, please inform the Chief Secretary, and if needed, me. You are taking random decisions without informing us… this has never happened,' the Chief Minister told district authorities at Gitanjali Auditorium in Birbhum's Bolpur. LoP alleges mass issuance of domicile certificates, voter registration forms Leader of Opposition (LoP) of West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (July 28, 2025) took to X sharing his letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of India about the alleged issuance and submission of thousands of voter registration forms and domicile certificates, allegedly in districts adjacent to the India-Bangladesh border such as North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, and Coochbehar districts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA alleged in his letter dated July 26, 2025, that these applications may involve Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, 'potentially supported by the directive to issue Domicile Certificates to facilitate their enrollment in voter lists.' 'The directive for the issuance of Domicile Certificates coincides with an alarming increase in the filing of form-6 applications for voter registration, particularly in these border districts, which is a clear cut attempt to dilute the prospective SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, if held in West Bengal,' Mr. Adhikari wrote in the letter. He also urged the West Bengal CEO, District Election Officers (DEOs), and other authorities concerned not to consider or accept any Domicile Certificates issued on or after July 25, 2025, during the SIR of West Bengal's electoral rolls, if conducted by the ECI.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Loktantra par var': Opposition MPs protest on SIR issue; Kharge, Rahul, Sonia, Akhilesh among protestors
Prominent leaders from the India bloc, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge , Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi , Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, joined a protest outside Makar Dwar of Parliament on Monday over the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls. The protest saw participation from across Opposition parties, with leaders holding banners which read "Loktantra par vaar" (attack on democracy) and placards that read "Stop SIR", accusing the government of undermining democratic values. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Also present at the demonstration were Assam Congress Chief Gaurav Gogoi and CPI(ML)(Liberation) MP Raja Ram Singh Kushwaha, reflecting the broad base of concern over the alleged expansion of SIR. Meanwhile, in a move to show strength in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party has called upon all the MPs of alliance parties that remain part of the larger National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The BJP had requested that all NDA MPs be present at the Makar Dwar of the Parliament today at 10:00 AM. Live Events Lok Sabha is set to hold a special discussion on ' Operation Sindoor ', India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack . A fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor is expected to unfold in Parliament, between top leaders from the ruling alliance and the Opposition. Lok Sabha List of Business for Monday states, "Special Discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor' in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam". Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Even since the monsoon session began on July 21, the Parliament has witnessed constant adjourments amid uproar over the demands of the opposition to push for a debate on issues of public importance, including the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack and the ongoing SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The opposition has also demanded that PM Modi respond to the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump of initiating a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor. The first week of the Monsoon session of Parliament was marked by major disruptions, including the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that the debate on Operation Sindoor will be held for 16 hours in the Lok Sabha on July 28 and for 16 hours in the Rajya Sabha on July 29. "All issues cannot be discussed together... The opposition has raised several issues, like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and others. We have told them that Operation Sindoor will be discussed first. We will decide which issues to discuss after that. Operation Sindoor will be debated for 16 hours in the Lok Sabha on Monday (July 28) and for 16 hours in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (July 29)," Rijiju told reporters. Apart from this, the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc parties will meet on Monday at 10 am to discuss the strategy for the second week of the monsoon session, with the Lok Sabha slated to take up discussion on Operation Sindoor on Monday and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
No names can be deleted from draft rolls without due process: EC
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Election Commission on Sunday asserted that no name can be deleted from the draft electoral roll of Bihar without following due process, including an order from the electoral registration officer (ERO).The EC underlined the due process involved in the exercise amid allegations by opposition parties that crores of eligible persons will lose their voting rights for want of documents due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in poll panel said there will be no deletion from Draft Electoral Rolls without a "speaking order".A speaking order is a self-explanatory order that details the reasons for reaching a particular to SIR guidelines, no name can be deleted from the draft list published on August 1 without notice and a speaking order of the Electoral Registration Officers/Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO/AERO), it elector aggrieved by any decision of the ERO can appeal to the District Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer final voter list will be published in the state on September polls are due in Bihar later this year.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Karnataka Electoral Officer Denies Rahul Gandhi's Claims On Alleged Voter Fraud
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer on Thursday refused the charges of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of election cheating, asserting that the electoral rolls are prepared transparently and copies were shared with the recognised parties. "As informed by the Election Commission of India already, Electoral Rolls are shared with all recognised political parties. During Special Summary Revision-2024, which was taken up before the General Elections to Lok Sabha-2024, the copies of draft and final electoral rolls of all 224 assembly constituencies were provided to representatives of all registered and recognised political parties, including the Indian National Congress (INC)," said Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka V. Anbukumar. Anbukumar pointed out that between the draft and final publication of rolls, about 9.17 lakh claims and objections were received for consideration. His statement also highlighted that no appeals were received at that time, even as the political parties can file an appeal against wrongful additions or deletions in the Electoral Rolls. "As per law, an appeal can be filed against wrongful additions or deletions in the Electoral Rolls. No appeals received," said Anbukumar. Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that he too has conducted an investigation in the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency, where several irregularities have taken place. "I will address the issue in detail later," said the Deputy Chief Minister. Earlier, LoP Rahul Gandhi said that the Election Commission is not functioning as the Election Commission of India. "Today, they (ECI) made a statement. This is complete nonsense. The fact of the matter is that the Election Commission is not doing its job. We have concrete, hundred per cent proof of the Election Commission allowing cheating in a seat in Karnataka," said LoP Rahul Gandhi. "It is a hundred per cent proof. We just looked at one constituency, and we found it. I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency, this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters, aged 50 years, 45 years, 60 and 65 years are added. We have caught them. I want to send a message to the Election Commission: if you think you are going to get away with this, if your officers think they can get away, you are mistaken. We are going to come for you," said LoP Rahul Gandhi. The ECI has clarified that as far as Karnataka elections are concerned, it is highly unfortunate that rather than filling election petition as per section 80 of the Representation of People Act 1951 or if filed, awaiting the verdict of High Court, Rahul Gandhi has not only made baseless allegations but also chosen to threaten ECI, which is a Constitutional body.
NDTV
7 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
For Second Straight Day, Row Over Bihar Electoral Rolls In Parliament
New Delhi: The row over Bihar's voter list revision snowballed in parliament today as the government refused to answer the Opposition's queries, arguing that it is not competent to do so since the Election Commission is conducting the exercise, sources said. The government said it cannot answer on behalf of the poll body and questioned how, in such a situation, can the issue of revision of voter list be discussed. The Opposition, not ready to accept the argument, demanded an answer. For the second day in a row, the leaders continued their protest at Parliament's Makar Dwar, demanding that the revision exercise be halted. The controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar and Operation Sindoor have been among the key issues on which the Opposition aimed to get a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this session. But while the government has agreed to a 16-hour debate on Operation Sindoor, it flatly refused to discuss the electoral roll revision today. The poll body has claimed the voters are satisfied with the exercise and assured that there will be time to tweak the lists and include anyone who need to be included. The poll body has also claimed that the Special Intensive Revision or SIR is its constitutional duty. In court, where the matter is pending, it has argued that the entire process is being conducted in a consistent and jurisdictional manner. The Opposition parties have contended that the revision is merely a ploy to pick and choose voters. And they have become more vocal after the Election Commission, with days to go before the draft Electoral Rolls, declared that 52 lakh names did not make it to list. The Commission has said these names include those who have died, migrated or had names in two constituencies, the Opposition has refused to relent. Today, Congress's Manoj Tiwari said, "never before have so many names been removed before an election. This is an attempt by the BJP to murder democracy, like in Haryana and Maharashtra, we will knock on every door against it". The party's senior leader Gaurav Gogoi said the Election Commission is "doing the work of (vote-bandi) banning votes in Bihar". "It can only be done with the consent of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. We want PM Modi to participate in the discussions of SIR, and he should inform us when the discussions on Operation Sindoor and SIR will take place," he said.
