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Hindustan Times
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ECI cites constitutional responsibility, defends SIR in poll-bound Bihar
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar, reiterating the exercise is a constitutional responsibility to ensure free and fair elections. In a statement, it questioned whether it should 'pave the way' for fake votes to be cast in the name of deceased, migrated, or duplicate voters. Congress's Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among opposition members at a protest over the electoral roll revision. (PTI) The statement came as Opposition lawmakers protested in Parliament House complex against the revision, demanded its roll back, and a discussion on it in both Houses. They raised slogans such as 'save democracy' and carried a banner, calling the exercise an attack on democracy as they protested for a third day, alleging the revision was aimed at disenfranchising voters ahead of the Bihar elections. The ECI called the Constitution the mother of Indian democracy and asked fearing these things, should it, getting misled by some people, 'pave the way for some to cast fake votes in the name of deceased voters, voters who have migrated permanently, voters who have got their votes registered at two places, fake voters or foreign voters, going against the Constitution, first in Bihar, then in the entire country'. The ECI said preparing authentic electoral roll through a transparent process is 'the foundation stone for fair elections and a strong democracy.' It urged citizens to look beyond political affiliations and reflect on the importance of accurate voter lists. 'Isn't the authentic voter list being prepared by the Election Commission through a transparent process, the foundation stone for fair elections and a strong democracy? On these questions, sometimes or other, all of us and all the citizens of India will have to think deeply, going beyond political ideologies. And perhaps the most appropriate time for this essential thinking for all of you has now arrived in India,' said the ECI statement. In Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged widespread voter manipulation. 'This is not only about 5.2 million votes or about Bihar. They cheated in Maharashtra. We requested that the Election Commission show us the voters' list. They did not show us that. We said, 'Show us the video.' They changed the rules. They stole the elections. Maharashtra had 10 million new voters,' Gandhi said. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav accused the ECI of exceeding its mandate. 'The Election Commission's job is not to cut votes, but to add new voters... Today, that which is happening in Bihar will happen in UP [Uttar Pradesh] tomorrow,' he said. On Wednesday, the ECI said 98.01% of electors have been covered under the first phase of the SIR in Bihar, which concludes on August 1. It reported that two million deceased voters and 2.8 million permanently migrated electors have been identified so far. Additionally, 700,000 voters were found registered at more than one location, while another 100,000 electors were deemed untraceable. In total, 71.7 million elector forms have been received and digitised, it said.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
INDIA bloc MPs protest in Parliament complex against SIR in Bihar
NEW DELHI: Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, protested in Parliament House complex on Thursday against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar and demanded its rollback as well as a discussion on the issue in both houses. Ahead of the start of the day's proceedings, top leaders and MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party, JMM, RJD and Left parties, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament and raised slogans against the government and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls Top leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party's Ziaur Rahman Barq, TMC's Kirti Azad, DMK's A Raja, besides others, raised slogans like "Save democracy" and "Stop vote-bandi." There was a huge banner in front of them that read 'SIR - Loktantra par Vaar' as they lined up on the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament and staged a protest for the third consecutive day. The opposition has been protesting in both houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections.
News18
3 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
INDIA bloc MPs protest in Parliament complex against SIR in Bihar
New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, protested in Parliament House complex on Thursday against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar and demanded its rollback as well as a discussion on the issue in both houses. Ahead of the start of the day's proceedings, top leaders and MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party, JMM, RJD and Left parties, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament and raised slogans against the government and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls Top leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal, Samajwadi Party's Ziaur Rahman Barq, TMC's Kirti Azad, DMK's A Raja, besides others, raised slogans like 'Save democracy" and 'Stop vote-bandi". There was a huge banner in front of them which read 'SIR- Loktantra par Vaar' as they lined up on the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament and staged a protest for the third consecutive day. The opposition has been protesting in both houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections. PTI ASK DV DV 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.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Govt accepts Oppn demand of debate on Operation Sindoor during Parliament Monsoon Session, say sources
With the Monsoon Session of the Parliament starting from tomorrow, the Centre has accepted the Opposition's demand to hold a debate on Operation Sindoor, sources told The Indian Express Sunday. The sources, however, added that the government is yet to take a call regarding a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The Monsoon session, starting on July 21, will conclude on August 21. On Saturday, the Opposition INDIA bloc held a virtual meeting of 24 of its constituents, reaching a consensus on eight major issues that they plan to raise during the Monsoon session, including the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, ceasefire announcement by US President Donald Trump, India's foreign policy, and the Election Commission's ongoing electoral rolls revision in Bihar. The virtual meeting was attended by Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress; Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav; TMC's Abhishek Banerjee; Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut; NCP(SP)'s Sharad Pawar and Jayant Patil; National Conference's Omar Abdullah; JMM's Hemant Soren; RJD's Tejashwi Yadav; and DMK's Tiruchi N Siva. The CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(ML) Liberation were represented by D Raja, M A Baby, and Dipankar Bhattacharya respectively. Kerala Congress (M) MP Jose K Mani, RSP's N K Premachandran, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi's Thirumavalavan and IUML's K M Kader Mohideen also attended the meeting. This is going to be the first session since the April 22 Pahalgam attack, in which 25 tourists and a local ponywallah were killed. Subsequently, Operation Sindoor was conducted by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan against terror emanating from that country.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
INDIA Bloc Parties Hold Online Meeting Ahead Of Parliament's Monsoon Session
New Delhi: INDIA bloc parties on Saturday held deliberations at an online meeting to reach a consensus on issues that they would raise to corner the government during Parliament's Monsoon session beginning July 21 and convey a message of unity. Twenty-four political parties, including the Congress, TMC, DMK, RJD, SP, NCP-SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, CPI-M, CPI, CPI-ML, Forward Bloc, IUML and Kerala Congress, participated in the discussions. The meeting came ahead of the Monsoon session, which begins on Monday. The opposition grouping met after a long gap as they jointly deliberated on the country's political situation. "Leaders of 24 political parties belonging to the INDIA group have just begun their online pre-Parliament meeting," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X after the meeting began. The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, NCP (SP)'s Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray (SS-UBT), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Tiruchi Siva (DMK) M A Baby of CPI-M, D Raja (CPI), CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, among others. The leaders deliberated on a host of key issues, including the Election Commission's special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the demand for a discussion on the Pahalgam attack, and Operation Sindoor. The opposition parties are raising strong objections to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and are demanding that it be scrapped now, as assembly elections are slated in the next few weeks there. They have also been demanding answers on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor and the losses that the country has suffered during it. US President Donald Trump's claims of bringing about a halt in hostilities between India and Pakistan, and the push to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, who is embroiled in a row following the discovery of burnt wads of currency at his residence after a fire incident, are also likely to feature in the discussions. During the Parliament session, the top Congress leadership has resolved to raise issues such as the demand for the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and rising atrocities against women in the country. The opposition party has also decided to raise farmers' problems, the issues of rising unemployment, safety and security of the country and the Ahmedabad air crash during the session. Sonia Gandhi had convened a meeting of the party's parliamentary strategy group at her 10, Janpath residence here on Tuesday evening.
