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A march against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began in central Delhi on Friday, with participants heading towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters to protest against the alleged deletion of voters. The march, called by the Delhi Coordination Committee of People Against SIR -- a people's collective -- started near Gole Dak Khana, at the intersection of Kalibari Marg and Bhai Vir Singh Marg. Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and the Students' Federation of India (SFI) have extended their support to the protest, with activists from Delhi, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh participating as well. Security was tightened near Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, with Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed in large numbers ahead of the march. The organisers have appealed to farmers, workers, youth, women and people from different sections of society to join the march carrying the national flag. They said the march would remain peaceful a
The Cabinet Secretariat refrained from taking any action on complaints sent by two Election Commissioners against the conduct of an officer in the Commission, noting that the communications were in their "individual capacity" and in the absence of "any official communication from the Commission as a whole, any action at this stage may be inappropriate", records made public in an RTI reply show. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had sent two separate communications on July 29 to the top bureaucrat of the country TV Somanathan, on the working of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (Sr. DEC) Maneesh Garg, IAS, who was posted in the Commission by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet since September 2, 2024, the letters provided in the RTI reply to activist Commodore Lokesh K Batra (retd) show. The Indian Express had reported in September that Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan after issuance of a work allocation order withi
The poll officials have started reverification of more than 47 lakh voters whose names were removed from the draft electoral rolls, to ensure that no eligible voter is left out in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashok Kumar said on Friday. The development comes amid complaints that the names of many living voters and those who were living at their registered address were also removed from the draft rolls published on August 31. Kumar said that around 25 lakh cases out of 33.12 lakh, in which voters who were issued notices for non-mapping or logical discrepancy, have also been resolved. Speaking with reporters, Kumar said, "The booth-level officers have been directed to reverify the voters whose names were not in the draft rolls published after the enumeration phase. Our efforts are to ensure that no genuine voter's name is omitted in the final voters lists that will be published on December 4." The BLOs who are visiting
The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not adjudicated upon the new Form 6 while hearing the matter related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Form 6 is an application through which an eligible person seeks inclusion in the electoral roll. The observation came from a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that was hearing a petition concerning the SIR. The counsel appearing for the petitioner argued that the Election Commission had said that Form 6 was approved by the apex court. "There is no adjudication on the new Form 6," Justice Bagchi observed, adding that when the matter relating to the SIR in Bihar was heard before it, the issue of new Form 6 was not there. While hearing a separate plea on October 5, the apex court said it had not approved any modifications to Form 6 being used by the poll panel during the SIR of electoral rolls in various states. The Election Commission had issued a pre
Cockroach Janta Party convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of waging a war against citizens to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid growing demands for his resignation. The activist reached his native village, Santuk Pimpri, in Hingoli district of Maharashtra late last night, and visited the site where his grandmother's final rites were performed. In a sharp post on X, Dipke wrote, "Youth are being assaulted, journalists are being assaulted, even MPs are being assaulted by Delhi Police. What makes Gyanesh Kumar so indispensable to Modi that he is willing to wage war against everyone just to protect him?" Dipke, along with CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were put under preventive arrest at the Delhi airport ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest on Saturday. They were released on Sunday on condition that they would not "breach peace" for a year. The CJP and opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Chief ...
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has not agreed to meet Leaders of Opposition after both of them wrote to him seeking time for a meeting on Monday to raise the 'vote chori' issue, sources said on Sunday night. Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge - had written to the CJI for a meeting with him between 4 and 5 PM on Monday to hand over a memorandum, demanding an end to 'vote chori', CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, halting of SIR and switching back to paper ballot. "Response of Hon'ble CJI to the letter received from Leaders of Opposition has been sent in their official mail," a source said. The sources said that the CJI has not agreed to meet the LoPs. They did not elaborate further. Opposition parties have announced a protest march to the Supreme Court on Monday over their demands. The Congress is calling it "Chalo Delhi - March for Democracy" and said they would converge at 1.30 PM at Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road ..
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea seeking recall of its recent split verdict on whether challenges to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners should be referred to a larger Constitution bench. On September 23, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma gave split opinions on whether a batch of pleas challenging the validity of a 2023 law that excludes the Chief Justice of India from the panel for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) should be referred to a larger Constitution bench. It had said due to a difference of opinion, the matter be placed before CJI Surya Kant on the administrative side for constitution of a bench of appropriate strength for an effective and authoritative adjudication. On Wednesday, a bench comprising the Chief Justice of India and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was told about the recall application by senior
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said his party has three "non-negotiable demands" - resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, annulment of SIR and conduct of elections on ballot paper instead of EVMs. Kharge said across the country, Congress workers and INDIA bloc partners are on the streets over these three issues. The Congress stands with civil society members and youth organisations that are struggling on these issues in various places across the country, Kharge said. On the other hand, the BJP has "harassed" female journalists in Delhi, which is highly condemnable, Kharge said. "The dictator is extremely panicked; get ready for another chapter in the distraction tactics," the Congress chief said. "The Congress Party's 3 demands are non-negotiable. First, the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. Second, the annulment of SIR. Third, conducting elections on Ballot Paper," Kharge said. The Congress' attack on the CEC comes amid the raging row over The Ind
The Congress on Monday said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must quit right away and claimed that his ability to "execute G2's illegal orders" has now made him a "liability for the country". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh's attack on the CEC came a day after Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan remarked that any process that "disenfranchises" millions of Indian citizens is "intrinsically arbitrary" and a "negation" of the constitutional order. "No amount of whataboutery can justify it," Bhuyan added. Sharing a post carrying the video clip of Bhuyan's remarks, Ramesh said on X, "Here is the bold Justice Ujjal Bhuyan speaking yesterday in NALSAR University in Hyderabad, where he exposed the CEC lock, stock and barrel. If he has any sense of shame, Gyanesh Kumar must quit right away." "His (Kumar's) ability to execute G2's illegal orders have now made him a liability for the country," Ramesh said. Ramesh often uses the term 'G2' to tak