Latest news with #GiridhariYadav
New Indian Express
27-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
'Nitish hasn't spoken on SIR, how can I defy party?' says JD-U MP
A day after he was shot a showcause notice by his party for criticising the Election Commission (EC) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav tells Preetha Nair he hasn't breached the party line. Excerpts: Do you think you crossed the party line by criticising the SIR? My party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hasn't made any comment on the SIR yet. Then how can one say that I have deviated from the party's position? Ours is a one-leader party and there is no leader other than Nitish Kumar. All others are equal and I am as senior as any of them. I have stayed with the party all along, unlike some who are playing the 'Aaya ram gaya ram' act. But the party has sent you a showcause notice... The party has the right to do so. However, I don't know if the notice is signed by the national president or not. It has been sent by the party general secretary and I am not aware if the central leadership supports the showcause notice. The party has given me 15 days to answer. I will talk it after submitting my answer. Why did you criticise the SIR exercise? The EC should have consulted all political parties before taking such a big decision. EC should be seen as non-partisan. If they had consulted all parties, this criticism of timing shouldn't have risen. Several parties, including the BJP, are criticising the timing of the exercise. EC is a Constitutional body. Voters have total faith in it. My criticism is about the timing of the move. It should have been done in summer. This is the farming season in Bihar and people are busy with agricultural work. Also, it is the monsoons and there can be unexpected floods. Besides, how can migrant workers in other states submit their documents in such short notice?
Indian Express
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
JD(U) MP who flayed EC's ‘Tughlaqi farmaan', got notice, won his seat hailing Modi leadership
A DAY after he criticised the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision drive on electoral rolls, MP Giridhari Yadav received a show cause notice from his party JD(U). A low-key leader, despite his four terms as Banka MP, 64-year-old Yadav is not really used to controversy. The last time he was in the news was two years ago, when he wrote to the Lok Sabha Secretary General seeking that he be allowed to submit written questions on paper, rather than online. He was not computer savvy, leaving him dependent on his staff or family members to ask questions on his behalf, which posed the risk of breach of secrecy, Yadav said. On Wednesday, Yadav criticised the EC's electoral roll revision drive, just ahead of Assembly elections in Bihar, as a 'Tughlaqi farmaan (unrealistic order)', and said the poll panel seemed to be unaware of the ground realities. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said it had taken him 10 days to get his own documents together for the exercise. 'Any government or constitutional authority is there to make life easier for people, not to complicate it further. It has been a year since the Lok Sabha polls. What was the EC doing till now?' Yadav said. While the ruling JD(U) and its allies have supported the EC drive officially, behind the scenes there is a growing concern about the impact on voters, given the short timeline within which the exercise is being carried out. On Thursday, JD(U) national general secretary Aafaque Ahmad Khan sent a show-cause notice to Yadav, demanding a reply within 15 days and warning him of disciplinary action otherwise. The notice said: 'You are aware that certain opposition parties, frustrated by their electoral outcomes, have been running a sustained campaign to discredit the Hon'ble ECI, particularly on the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), with the sole objective of creating public doubt over the functioning of a constitutional body. Our party, the Janata Dal (United), has consistently supported the Hon'ble ECI and the use of EVMs, both during our time in the I.N.D.I.A. alliance and now as part of the NDA alliance… In this context, 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.' A senior JD(U) leader said the notice to Yadav sent the right message: 'It speaks volumes about our support to the SIR. Every party leader has to be disciplined.' Asked about their ally MP's remarks, BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said Yadav may not be suitably informed. 'Since Giridhari Yadav has been busy attending the ongoing Parliament Session, he is not conversant with what has been happening on the ground on the SIR front.' RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta welcomed Yadav's remarks. 'At least Giridhari Yadav had the courage to speak the truth. We have serious doubts about the EC data regarding people who have 'permanently shifted' or are 'dead'.' On the show-cause notice to Yadav, Mehta said it showed 'the NDA's character'. As per the data shared by the EC for the state on Thursday, '99%' of the total 7.89 crore registered electors of Bihar had been 'covered' in the SIR, with less than 7 lakh forms yet to be received ahead of Friday's deadline to submit forms. The EC has not shared district-wise data. The EC said 21.6 lakh electors across the state were reported to be deceased, 31.5 lakh to have permanently migrated, and 7 lakh registered at more than one place. Giridhari Yadav started his electoral innings in 1995, winning the Katoria Assembly seat in Banka as a Janata Dal nominee. In 1996, he jumped into the Lok Sabha poll fray, and won from the Banka seat. After Lalu Prasad formed the RJD in 1997, Yadav contested from the Katoria Assembly seat again, and won on its ticket in 2000. In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, he switched back to the Lok Sabha and won from Banka on the RJD ticket. By 2010, Yadav switched sides to the JD(U), though that didn't affect his poll chances. He won from the Belhar Assembly seat in Banka this time, and retained it in the 2015 state elections. Come 2019, it was back to the Lok Sabha for Yadav, and he won Banka that year, as well as in 2024. Despite his string of poll wins, Yadav, who declared assets worth Rs 1.72 crore in his 2024 poll affidavit, is not seen as a very popular grassroots leader. However, the social arithmetic of the area works for him. Banka has a mixed population of OBCs, EBCs and Dalits, along with a sizeable chunk of upper castes. A leader from Banka said: 'In the 2019 and 2024 polls, he used the Narendra Modi factor, even though he belongs to the JD(U). He openly sought votes in the name of Modi's leadership.' Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More
The Hindu
24-07-2025
- Politics
- 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.'
Scroll.in
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
JD(U) MP gets show-cause notice for criticising Bihar voter revision
The Janata Dal (United) has issued a show-cause notice to its MP Giridhari Yadav after he publicly criticised the ongoing revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a 'Tughlaqi farman' or an arbitrary order, The Indian Express reported. The Janata Dal (United), headed by Nitish Kumar, is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The show-cause notice, issued by the party's national general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan, stated that Yadav's remarks came at a time when certain opposition parties were trying to discredit the Election Commission by raising doubts about electronic voting machines and the electoral process, ANI reported. The notice said that JD(U) has always stood by the poll body, both when it was part of the INDIA Opposition alliance and now as a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. 'In this context, 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 baseless and politically motivated allegations made by the opposition,' the notice added. The Janata Dal (United) asked Yadav to respond within 15 days, saying that it could take disciplinary action against him if he fails to do so. JDU has issued a show-cause notice to party MP Giridhari Yadav over his statement on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. The notice reads, "...Your public comments on such a sensitive matter, especially in an election year, not only cause embarrassment to the… — ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2025 Speaking outside Parliament on Wednesday, the Banka MP said the poll body has ' no practical knowledge ' of the history of Bihar and has ' forcefully imposed ' the revision of electoral rolls on the state's residents. Yadav clarified that the statement was his personal opinion. 'It took 10 days for me to collect all of my documents,' the MP told ANI. 'My son stays in America. How will he do the signatures in just a month?' He said that at least six months should have been given for the electoral roll revision. The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24. As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of eligibility to vote. This means that 2.9 crore out of the state's 7.8 crore voters – or about 37% of the electors – will have to submit documentary evidence. Voters born before July 1, 1987, must show proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must also submit documents establishing the date and place of birth of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will need proof of date of birth for themselves and both parents. If the officers are satisfied with the details provided, the voters will be re-enrolled to a new voter list by electoral registration officers. If not, they will be removed from the voter lists. On July 2, eleven INDIA bloc parties told the Election Commission that the special intensive revision of Bihar's electoral rolls risked disenfranchising more than 2.5 crore voters, as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on July 6 defended the exercise, claiming that the exercise had to be carried out as no one was satisfied with the current voter rolls. Opposition leaders in the Bihar Assembly have been protesting against the ongoing exercise and demanding a discussion on it. On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha also witnessed a ruckus over the exercise, with Opposition MPs shouting slogans in both Houses and demanding a rollback of the decision to review electoral rolls.
News18
24-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Embarrassing': JD(U)'s Show-Cause Notice To Giridhari Yadav For Speaking Against Bihar SIR
Last Updated: JD(U) general secretary has asked the Banka MP to reply within 15 days, failing which disciplinary action will be initiated against him The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to its MP Giridhari Yadav for criticising the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The party said Yadav's remarks had caused 'embarrassment" and appeared to support the opposition's 'baseless and politically motivated" claims against the Election Commission. The notice, issued by JD(U) general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan, asked the Banka MP to respond within 15 days or face disciplinary action. In response, Yadav defended his position, stating he was only voicing the concerns of the people in his constituency. 'I will reply to the show-cause notice. As a people's representative, I cannot go back on what I have said. I have only spoken about the Election Commission and its drive," he told news agency PTI. Yadav had publicly opposed the SIR on Wednesday, saying that revising voter rolls now could cast doubt on the results of the Lok Sabha elections held last year. He questioned why the voter lists were considered valid during the general elections but now needed revision ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. He also criticised the timing of the drive, suggesting it should be done in the summer to allow people more time. The Nitish Kumar-led party stated that opposition parties had been running campaigns to question the EC's credibility and that Yadav's comments had unintentionally supported such narratives. 'You are well aware that in exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the ECI has ordered a Special Intensive Revision of the Electoral Rolls in Bihar," the notice read. '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." (With inputs from PTI) view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 18:11 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.
