Latest news with #Gokhale
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihar SIR: Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale slams electoral roll revision; claims 1.26 crore voters 'deleted'
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale on Monday (July 27, 2025) said 1.26 crore voters have been "deleted" from Bihar's electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and challenged the government to a debate on the issue in Parliament. Bihar SIR row hearing LIVE: Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi to hear the matter Sharing the Election Commission's SIR data in a post on X, Mr. Gokhale said the poll panel "conveniently" did not share any information regarding its claim of having found foreign nationals in Bihar. Parliament Monsoon session LIVE Day 6: Both houses adjourn second time amid continuing Opposition protests As the month-long first phase of the SIR has concluded, the EC on Sunday (July 27, 2025) said that enumeration forms from 7.24 crore or 91.69% of voters of the State have been received. It also said 36 lakh people were found to have either permanently shifted from their previous addresses or were not found. It pointed out that seven lakh Bihar voters were found to have enrolled themselves at multiple places. "ECI has deleted 1.26 crore voters in Bihar from the 2024 Lok Sabha voter list overnight," Mr. Gokhale, the TMC Rajya Sabha MP, said on X. Calling the details revealed by the EC "bizarre", Mr. Gokhale pointed out that of a total of 7.90 crore voters, forms have been collected from only 91.69% — 7.24 crore voters. "This means that forms were not collected from 65 lakh voters and they will be deleted. About 22 lakh voters (2.83%) have been deleted because they're claimed to be deceased, about 36 lakh voters (4.59%) have been deleted because they're claimed to be untraceable, and about 7 lakh voters (0.89%) claimed to be found as duplicate entries so half i.e. 3.5 lakh entries deleted," he said. Bihar SIR: 91.69% have submitted enumeration forms, says Election Commission of India "ECI has conveniently not disclosed how many voters were found to be non-citizens of India. This is important because ECI had claimed that the SIR was being done to 'remove illegal immigrants'," Mr. Gokhale said. EC sources had earlier said their field-level functionaries found "a large number of people" from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar during house-to-house visits made for the ongoing intensive review of the voters' list in Bihar. Mr. Gokhale further said the names "deleted" were on the voters' list in the last Lok Sabha polls. "A total of 1.26 crore voters in Bihar, whose names were on the Lok Sabha 2024 voter list just one year ago, have been deleted from the new voter list," he said. SIR of electoral rolls is 'impractical and filled with irregularities': suggest citizen's panel after public hearing in Patna "To give you a comparable idea, the number of deleted voters in Bihar during the current SIR is equal to the entire combined population of Uttarakhand plus Himachal Pradesh or the entire combined population of all six States of the North-East (excluding Assam)," he said. He said EC needed to answer some questions "urgently". "The voter list was revised by the ECI before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. How on earth did 1.26 crore voters become ineligible in just one year?" he said. "How many voters has the ECI been unable to reach for collecting their forms? Under the rules of SIR, those whose forms were not collected will be deleted. Therefore, what is the total number of voters whose names have been deleted only because their forms were not collected?" he questioned. He said the EC has not collected documents along with the forms from all 7.24 crore voters. "Does this mean that more voters will be deleted if their documents have not been collected with their forms?" He reiterated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that the SIR exercise "is NRC by the back door." "ECI had claimed 'removing foreigners from the voter list' as one of the reasons for conducting this SIR. Why has the ECI not disclosed how many actual 'foreigners' were found and deleted from the voter list during this SIR?" he said. "It makes zero sense that 12 million people in Bihar have become 'ineligible' voters in just one year between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections till date... When 12 million people in a single State lose the right to vote overnight, it is a serious issue," he said. He added that the Opposition MPs have been pressing for a debate on the issue. "Why is the Modi Government so scared to have an open discussion on this in Parliament?" he added. Meanwhile, the EC has asserted that no names will be deleted from draft rolls without following due process.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Settle case out of court: HC to Puri, Gokhale
This is a representative AI image (Pic credit: Lexica) NEW DELHI: Delhi high court Thursday advised former diplomat Lakshmi Puri and TMC MP Saket Gokhale to settle the dispute over defamatory tweets against Puri, pointing out that "courts are overflooded." A bench of justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar proposed a meeting to settle the matter after noting that Gokhale had tendered an apology in response to Puri's defamation suit. "You're in public life, respected public figures. Both parties can sit together and try to resolve the dispute. Please take into consideration that courts are already overflooded and burdened," the court told both parties. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, and senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Gokhale, assured the bench they would talk to their clients and consider the court's proposal of settlement. The dispute stems from defamatory tweets posted by Gokhale in June 2021, alleging improprieties in Puri's purchase of property abroad. She is a retired IFS officer. The bench was hearing Gokhale's appeal against a single judge's order last year restraining him from publishing further on social media or any online platform against Puri. The single judge found Gokhale's tweets defamatory and directed him to apologise to Puri and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages.
News18
5 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Courts overflooded: Delhi HC asks Lakshmi Puri, Saket Gokhale to resolve row
New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) In the defamation case filed by former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri against TMC MP Saket Gokhale, the Delhi High Court on Thursday urged them to settle the issue saying 'courts are overflooded". A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar proposed a meeting to settle the matter after noting that Gokhle tendered an apology, which was accepted by Puri. 'You're in public life, respected public figures. If both parties can see sit together and try to resolve the dispute. Please take into consideration court are already overflooded," the bench said. The court was dealing with Gokhale's appeal against a single judge's July 1, 2024 verdict restraining the TMC leader from publishing further on social media or any online platform against Puri. The single judge directed him to apologise to her and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages. The bench on Thursday noted that besides apology, property had also been attached in regard to the payment. 'Attachment to continue," the bench said. Both senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, and senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Gokhale, told the bench that they will talk to their clients and consider court's proposal of settlement. PTI UK AMK AMK view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 13:45 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.
Deccan Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Is Xi Jinping on his way out, or consolidating power?
Is Chinese President Xi Jinping preparing for an orderly transition when his third term ends, or is he on his way out in the way other Chinese leaders before him have been abruptly removed? Is he relinquishing some of his powers, or is he making himself more powerful? Or is his presidency unravelling behind the opacity that surrounds the functioning of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC)? Speculation has been rife since May-end, when Xi disappeared from public view for a couple of weeks. There were no photos or videos of him in state media from about May 20. He surfaced on June 4, when photos were published of him with the visiting President of Belarus, Alexandre Lukashenko. The next day, he and United States President Donald Trump held a long phone conversation on tariffs and other issues. The rumours continued, however, getting new wings when Beijing announced that he would not be attending the BRICS summit in Brazil; his first absence from the annual meeting, and when news emerged that the powerful 24-member politburo of the CPC had met under his leadership to decided that the party central committee's decision-making would be 'standardised' with a new see in this Xi putting in place systems to delegate some of his responsibilities, or quit one of his three posts — he is the general secretary of the CPC, the President of the People's Republic of China, and the chairman of the Central Military Commission — towards a leadership transition, which could take place before his term ends in move to share power fuels speculation about his political the other hand, it may well be the all-powerful president's intention to entrench himself further through more 'rule by law'. Recently, in a conversation with this author, former foreign secretary and former ambassador to China (2016-2017) Vijay Gokhale explained how Xi had used this very Chinese idea (which is different from the rule of law) to make himself more powerful. Gokhale said it was hard to see Xi relinquish any of his powers or posts, 'simply because after 15 years in power, during which he has ruthlessly dealt with his enemies, real and imagined, he is sitting on the back of the tiger, and it is difficult to get off that'. In other words, insecurity is the other side of authoritarianism. Many have pointed to the sweeping purges in the party and military since 2023, a year after Xi began his third term. Officials said to be close to Xi were removed in these purges. Their dismissals were seen as the result of a power struggle within the CPC and the military. Some observers, especially among dissident groups living overseas, hold the view that a faction opposed to Xi has gained the upper hand in the party and the military. According to others, the purge may have been a deliberate move by Xi to consolidate his hold in both the party and the military. Gokhale, one of India's sharpest China watchers, sees the purges as an insecure Xi's 'very Stalinist mode of inducing terror' to ensure the rank and file's loyalty.A Lowy Institute analysis points out that there is little chance of anti-Xi factions taking control of the party and calling the shots as the politburo and its standing committee are packed with Xi loyalists. Moreover, choosing political uncertainty that will accompany a transition may not be the CPC's way forward at this time of great external flux. Even though Xi has presided over a long economic slowdown, he may also be the right person from China's point of view to negotiate with Trump. Xi forced Trump to blink, a nationalist moment in which Chinese social media erupted with memes about the US chickening out. The substack Sinocism pointed out on July 1, the day the CPC celebrated its 104th anniversary, the lavish praise for Xi in the People's Daily, remarking that 'it does not sound like Xi's position is in doubt, fever-dream rumors notwithstanding'.Yet, the fact that such rumours have swirled and eddied over the last two months is itself seen as significant in a system where information is tightly controlled, and rumours are accepted as premature facts. Xi's days-long 'disappearance' may well have even been engineered by him to test loyalties. This is not the first time Xi dropped out of view. He 'disappeared' in 2012 too, at a time when he was set to succeed Hu Jintao, missing crucial party meetings and engagements. Rumours ranged from an illness to an time too, no one really knows the truth. With the centralisation of information that Xi has implemented, little filters out of the party into the public domain. Xi's moment of reckoning may eventually come, but it will be 'messy', said Gohkale, predicting that as in all transitions in China's leadership except in the case Deng Xiaoping, who set the two-term limit for presidents, Xi, who did away with that rule, will not go Subramanian is an independent journalist. X: @ The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Affront to Bengal's dignity: CM on NITI's map goof-up
Kolkata: A summary report on Bengal, showing a map of Bihar instead of the state on the cover page, prompted CM on Wednesday to write a strongly worded letter to its vice-chairman, Suman K Bery, demanding an immediate "clarification and apology". Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "I am writing with deep concern and unequivocal disapproval that in the 'Summary Report for the State of West Bengal', published by NITI Aayog and available on its website... the map intended to represent the state of West Bengal has depicted the territory of Bihar in its place," the CM wrote. Later in the day, the page was no longer available. Banerjee said in her letter: "Such a grave lapse in an official document of a premier national institution is not merely a technical error but an affront to the identity and dignity of the state of West Bengal. Such a blunder in an official publication of NITI Aayog reflects an alarming lack of diligence and respect towards the States of the Union." Such representations "raise legitimate concerns about the rigour and reliability of the institution's work, which policymakers and citizens alike depend upon for accurate and informed decision-making, and cast significant doubt on the quality, authenticity, and credibility of reports and publications of NITI Aayog," she wrote. "The govt of West Bengal strongly condemns this inaccuracy and calls upon NITI Aayog to issue a clarification and apology and take immediate corrective action to rectify the document and to institute robust mechanisms to prevent such lapses in future," Banerjee added. Trinamool spokesperson Saket Gokhale also took to X to say it was "pathetic" that the Centre couldn't even place Bengal on an India map. Gokhale pointed out that BJP had 12 Lok Sabha MPs from Bengal, including two junior Union ministers, but "shamelessly" showed Bihar as Bengal on a map. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Linking this with the issues, including NRC, that have pitted Trinamool govt against the Centre, Gokhale said: "BJP has been targeting and harassing Bengalis in every state ruled by them. CM Mamata Banerjee has also exposed how the Modi govt wants to impose NRC in Bengal out of fear of losing elections." posted on X: "We demand that NITI Aayog issue a formal clarification, offer an unconditional apology, take immediate corrective steps to rectify the document, and establish strong quality control mechanisms to prevent such egregious lapses in the future."
