India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
Hyderabad: As the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducts the controversial special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections, the pressure to meet the July 25 deadline has left many workers, families and students who are outside the state, unsettled. The SIR requires all voters enrolled after 2003 to re-submit proof of citizenship. This is being done through a household enumeration process involving door-to-door visits by booth-level officers across Bihar. Those who fail to fill the form by July 25 risk being left out of the draft rolls. "I'm on duty right now. No one I know is going back home yet, but if this is really happening, if names will be cut or there will be questions about citizenship then we may have to go," said Raju, a migrant worker at a factory in Hyderabad. "It's a basic right, but we can't leave our jobs for too long either." Some of the list of accepted documents are difficult to produce for many families, especially in rural areas, where formal paperwork is either incomplete or never created in the first place. Suresh Paswan, a daily-wage labourer from Darbhanga, working in Miyapur. asked, "My voter ID is from Bihar. I voted in the election. But now they want more documents. I can't leave work or buy a ticket to go back. Does that mean I stop being a voter?" The Bihar Association in Hyderabad has received queries from workers in the city. Vinod Kumar Gupta, who serves as the treasurer, said the association was trying to help but could not meet the scale of requests unless the government steps in. "Not everyone can make that journey home. It takes 30 to 50 hours one way. If the Bihar government provides free travel, maybe 80 per cent will go. People want to vote. They see this election as important," he said. To accommodate increased demand from Bihari migrants, special trains have been announced from Telangana. These include services from Charlapalli and Hyderabad to Raxaul, Patna, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga. Some are running until the end of July and early August, including Train No 07255 from Charlapalli to Patna on Wednesdays, until July 30, and Train No 07256 on Fridays, until August 1. Sanjeev Kumar of the Human Rights Forum called it a distortion of the idea of voting itself. "If someone is Bihari by birth, how can their right to vote depend on their physical location? Even NRIs who live abroad for years still vote when they visit. Some of them even have citizenship there. But this is disenfranchising just the poor." The revision has drawn comparisons with the NRC process in Assam and the idea of a paper-based citizenship test. Critics say the default assumption now seems to be that voters are outsiders unless proven otherwise. There is also concern that local officials, tasked with verifying documents, have been given wide discretion without clear safeguards. The final draft rolls will be published on August 1. The matter is being heard in the Supreme Court, where multiple petitions have been filed. The next hearing is on July 10.
India is not a dharmashala (free shelter) that can entertain refugees from all over the world, the Supreme Court said today, refusing a Sri Lankan national's plea for refuge. The bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing a petition by a Sri Lankan national, who was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of being linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation once active in Sri Lanka. In 2018, a trial court convicted him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. In 2022, the Madras High Court sla ...Read More >
The Election Commission introduces new rules for voter enrollment. Voters enrolled after 2003-04 must now provide proof of citizenship. This includes a self-attested declaration and supporting documents. The move aims to remove illegal immigrants from the electoral roll. Bihar will be the first state to implement the special intensive revision. Other states will follow soon.In a move to identify and remove illegal immigrants wrongly included in the electoral rolls, the Election Commission has man ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has held that there is nothing on record to show any fraud in Maharashtra assembly elections. Dismissing a plea to declare the Maharashtra election null and void, a division bench held that the case of the petitioner appears to be "quite absurd to say the least". The court also held that the use of EVMs does not take away "free and fair elections" in any manner. Prakash Ambedkar, who appeared as a lawyer for the petitioner in the case, criticised the HC for overlooking the concerns raised in the petition. The bench of justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor dism ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): A female student was allegedly gang-raped inside a law college in Kolkata's Kasba on Wednesday evening. The police have arrested all three accused within 24 hours. The three accused, named as Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), were former students or staff members of the same law college. Also Read | Student Gang-Raped at South Kolkata Law College: Police Arrest 3 Youths for Sexually Assaulting Young Woman Inside Law College. According to the police, the accused named in the FIR will be produced before the A.C.J. ...Read More >
New Delhi: Observing that "criminalisation of politics is a very major issue", the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and Election Commission of India (ECI) to respond to a PIL challenging election of convicted persons as MPs/MLAs. The development took place during the resumed hearing of a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, seeking lifelong disqualification of MPs and MLAs convicted of criminal offences. The PIL has challenged provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) that bar convicted politicians from contesting polls for six years after serving jail terms. A be ...Read More >
Itanagar, Jun 7 (PTI) The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved on Saturday with water levels of most rivers receding, even as 33,000 people in 24 districts remained affected, officials said. Twelve people lost their lives and one person went missing in rain-related incidents, including landslides, after the monsoon set in, they said. In its daily report, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 33,200 people in 215 villages remained affected due to floods and landslides in the state. The water levels of most major rivers and their tributaries were showing a receding trend o ...Read More >
Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alleged on Tuesday that the ongoing 'special intensive revision' of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar was a move to cut votes from the strong booths and constituencies of the Opposition, and add votes to the booths at which the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was stronger. Punching holes in the entire exercise, the RJD leader denounced it as being "full of confusion, uncertainty and repression", and demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) "immediately cancel all confusing orders and issue clear, final and ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Congress on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its recent directive to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's voter list within just one month. With the state elections drawing closer, senior Congress leaders alleged that the move is a "deliberate attempt to delete names of the poor, Dalits, backward communities, and migrant workers." At a press briefing held at the new Congress headquarters in Delhi, Congress Media and Publicity Chairman Pawan Khera, Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, and ...Read More >
Patna, Jul 5 (PTI) Prominent Bihar-based businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead near his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant, police said on Saturday. The incident took place around 11.40 pm on Friday in the Gandhi Maidan locality. Also Read | Mona Bugaliya or Mooli Devi? Woman Poses As Fake Sub-Inspector, Trains 2 Years at Rajasthan Police Academy; Arrested. "Officers of the local police station and personnel in patrolling vehicles immediately reached the spot and secured the crime scene. Forensic experts are collecting evidence. Investigation is underway," SP (Patna Central) Diks ...Read More >
New Delhi, Nov 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce ballot paper in place of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale rejected the prayer to return to the ballot system due to the alleged manipulability of EVMs. "When you lose, EVMs are tampered with; when you win, EVMs are fine," remarked the apex court, when the petitioner referred to the statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor Jagan Mohan ...Read More >
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC), on June 21, issued a notification for the three-tier panchayat elections in 12 districts except Haridwar. Polls would be held in two phases, and the district election officers will issue notifications on June 30. The first phase will be conducted on July 24, followed by the second phase on July 28. The counting for all phases will be conducted by July 31. Earlier, the Uttarakhand High Court had stayed the panchayat elections in the state on June 23, at a time when it had already been notified by the SEC. Elections will be held in 89 ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) A day after the Congress urged the Election Commission to provide machine-readable digital copy of the Maharashtra voters' list, EC sources on Thursday said the demand is "not tenable" under the prevailing legal framework, asserting that a similar plea of the party was junked by the Supreme Court in 2019. The EC sources said while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been demanding for machine-readable, digital copy of the electoral roll for the last seven months, such demand by the Congress is "not new". Also Read | Udhampur Encounter: 1 Terrorist Killed in Gunfight With ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
VIJAYAWADA: The State government on Friday accorded approvals to a slew of industries. Among those are Krishnapatnam Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), which is set to establish a 350 MW Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Thamminapatnam and Mommidi villages of SPSR Nellore district with a Rs 1,225 crore investment, creating 575 jobs. Furthermore, the government also waived off a Rs 54 crore extension of time fee, contingent on project completion within two years as per the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024. The government also allocated 22.80 acres at MPSEZ in N ...Read More >
Digha: A day after Rath Yatra, the festive fervour continues in Digha as the seaside town is now gearing up to host Ulta Rath or the return journey of the deities from the 'Masir Bari' or the old Jagannath temple. On July 5 -- the Ulta Rath day -- hotels are hoping for fresh tourist influx. Though the deities are currently in Masir Bari, a large queue of devotees visited the newly-constructed Jagannath temple on Saturday. They offered prayers to the stone idol permanently installed there. It is the wooden idols of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra that have taken the chairot rides. Bipradash Cha ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 3 (ANI): Noting that the Election Commission 'undermined' the basis of the democratic system in the last six months, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accused that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the poll body will 'destroy' the country's democracy. Ramesh, who is also Congress' General Secretary in charge of Communications, drew a parallel between the demonetisation in 2016 and SIR by the Election Commission, stating that the PM's 'notebandi' destroyed our economy and the ECI's 'VOTE-Bandi', as reflected in the SIR, will destroy our democracy. In a post on X, Ramesh ...Read More >
Patna, July 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) As preparations for the Bihar Assembly elections intensify, the state government has banned the transfer of personnel involved in the Special Intensive Voter List Revision Programme 2025 to ensure its effective implementation. On the instructions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Bihar government has issued directives to all Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates, emphasising the national importance of the programme, which is being implemented first in Bihar. "Ensure 100 per cent availability of officers and employees associated with thi ...Read More >
Chandigarh: Following his resignation from the Punjab cabinet, AAP's Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that he promptly submitted his resignation when chief minister Bhagwant Mann called him for a meeting on Thursday morning, citing the party's decision to give others a chance. Dhaliwal also asserted his long-standing friendship with Mann, dating back to 1992.Asked about the specific reason for his departure, Dhaliwal indicated, "The party high command can tell you better...I was told that someone else has to be given a chance and I submitted by resignation. My personal view is that Sanje ...Read More >
Upendra Kushwaha, RLM leader and NDA ally, voiced concerns about the ECI's SIR exercise in Bihar, emphasizing the need to ensure no genuine voter is excluded. He suggested the ECI should have started the revision earlier, given the large population and migrant worker base. Kushwaha highlighted fears among migrant voters and those lacking required documents about potential voter list exclusion.Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader and NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha on Friday raised concerns regarding the S ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) recent directive mandating large sections of voters in Bihar to furnish proof of citizenship in order to remain on the electoral rolls. Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition seeks to quash the ECI's June 24 order initiating a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. The plea argues that the directive violates constitutional provisions inclu ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 26 (ANI): Sources within the Election Commission of India (ECI) have clarified that the Indian National Congress' (INC) ongoing demand for machine-readable, digital copies of electoral rolls is 'not legally tenable' and has already been conclusively settled by the Supreme Court. Officials pointed out that this issue was earlier raised by former Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee President Kamal Nath in 2018 through written petition (C) No. 935 of 2018. The Supreme Court had definitively ruled in favour of the Election Commission's position in that case. While acknowled ...Read More >
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday raised questions over the fresh electoral roll revision guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of Bihar assembly polls scheduled this year. Expressing apprehensions, Banerjee said that these fresh guidelines might be implemented in Bengal ahead of the assembly polls in 2026. Speaking to ET, Banerjee said that she has apprehensions that these guidelines may be even worse that National Register of Citizens ( ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 28 (ANI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), raising strong objections to the ongoing "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. In a letter dated Saturday, June 28, Owaisi expressed concerns that the revision exercise could have a "deleterious effect" on electors ahead of the upcoming Bihar legislative assembly elections. He urged the ECI to provide a "detailed explanation" on several issues raised by his party in a formal representation. Also Re ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravada A Chandrasekhar took charge as the new State Police Chief on Tuesday. He succeeds Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on June 30. His tenure will run until July 1, 2027. A 1991-batch IPS officer currently serving as Special Director with the Intelligence Bureau, Chandrasekhar is on central deputation. He was selected over Nitin Agarwal, who topped the official list of probables. The appointment order, issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak on behalf of the Governor, was released soon after a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Godav ...Read More >
New Delhi: Was it the pitch? Was it the conditions? Was it the bowling? The questions doing the rounds after yet another strange show in good batting conditions by India were many. But with the exception of Shubman Gill, who became just the second Indian captain, after Mohammad Azharuddin, to score hundreds in consecutive matches in England, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, few India batters managed to answer them in a satisfactory manner. After being put into bat by England, India looked like they were in control at various points during the day but then somehow contrived to gift away wickets and end t ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 4 (ANI): Independent MP from Bihar's Purnia, Pappu Yadav, on Friday accused the Election Commission (EC) of trying to disenfranchise poor, Dalit, and migrant workers through its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Speaking to ANI, Yadav alleged that the EC is demanding proof of citizenship dating back to before 1987, documents he claims most Dalits, Adivasis and migrant labourers do not possess. 'Are we not Indians? Are we from Nepal or Bangladesh? You released all the lists six months ago--what's the point now, after 22 years ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], February 5 (ANI): Hundreds of Pakistani Hindu refugees who have been living in Delhi cast their votes for the first time after being granted citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act. This marked a powerful moment in their journey from statelessness to citizenship. Interacting with ANI after exercising their voting rights, refugees expressed their happiness and said that they feel proud of being citizen of the country. Dhanwanti, one of the Pakistani refugees, now an Indian voter, said, "We came here from Pakistan...I voted for the first time here in India...I am fe ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana, who was part of the all-party parliamentary delegation to Europe, said that during their recently conclued visit they successfully communicated India's development story and its resolute stand against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan. Highlighting the delegation's key discussions during the tour, Khatana told ANI, 'We discussed how we dismantled the terrorism factory in Pakistan by responding... We also talked about tourism infrastructure, G20 Summit, and projects like the six-lane roads, bridges, solar initiatives, our ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) A day after the Congress urged the Election Commission to provide machine-readable digital copy of the Maharashtra voters' list, EC sources on Thursday said the demand is "not tenable" under the prevailing legal framework, asserting that a similar plea of the party was junked by the Supreme Court in 2019. The EC sources said while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been demanding for machine-readable, digital copy of the electoral roll for the last seven months, such demand by the Congress is "not new". "Rather, it forms part of a strategy by the political party for wel ...Read More >