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KOLKATA: Election Commission Wednesday gave Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant time till August 21 to comply with its directions to suspend four state officers and lodge FIRs against them and a data entry officer. The officers, working in Baruipur East and Moyna assembly segments, are facing allegations of lapses in voter inclusions in local electoral rolls.Pant, who met EC officials in Delhi much before the 5pm deadline he was set, told EC that Bengal had formed a three-member committee to probe the complaints. Sources said he informed the officials that the state had ordered a fresh probe because it felt EC's directives were harsh. He was told the state could probe the matter but he needed to comply with the order and send a compliance report at the earliest, sources added. If there was any further delay in following the order, EC might consider it insubordination, Pant was told.
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 >
West Bengal's draft electoral rolls reveal 127 Absent, Shifted, Dead (ASD) voters at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's booth. The Special Intensive Revision process identified over 24 lakh dead voters for deletion. The draft rolls are now available for public scrutiny, with claims and objections to be filed until January 17, 2026. With the draft electoral rolls in Bengal published on Tuesday, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that began on December 4, West Bengal C ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has suggested prioritising women in allocation of deceased donor organs.In a letter to the states/UTs, the apex authority for regulating organ donations and transplants in the country, has said a provision should be made to mark additional points for women recipients of donor organs, to address gender disparity. Studies have shown that while women make up a large percentage of donors, they receive fewer organs than men. "Women are equally vulnerable when it comes to end-stage organ failure due to illness, and it is import ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 1 (PTI) With less than six days left for deleted voters to get eligibility to cast votes in the first phase of West Bengal polls, the EC faces fresh hurdles in setting up specially constituted tribunals, the final recourse for such electors to dispose of their cases, a well-placed source in the poll body said. The official said infrastructure constraints may prevent the tribunals from starting operations on Thursday, the day the Election Commission (EC) had previously scheduled for initiating the process, potentially delaying resolution of cases that run into several lakh names. ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
The Election Commission of India on Monday said it will conduct the second phase of the electoral roll revision in 12 states and union territories. In this pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, which will begin from Tuesday (October 28), three states and one UT - Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry - will go to polls next year while three states - Goa, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh - will have elections in 2027. The Election Commission (EC) said the SIR exercise in these ...Read More >
Patna, Aug 1 (PTI) Healthcare services were affected at AIIMS-Patna on Friday as resident doctors went on an "indefinite strike" in protest against the alleged high-handedness of Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand. According to a press statement issued by the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA), AIIMS-Patna, on Friday, "The RDA expresses deep disappointment and anguish over the lack of action by the administration following the violent and traumatic incident that occurred on Wednesday, when MLA Chetan Anand, his wife and their armed guards breached hospital security, physically assaulted staff, and thr ...Read More >
New Delhi/Patna, Jul 6 (PTI) The controversy over special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar intensified as Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, RJD's Manoj Jha and several NGOs moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the Election Commission's order, which they claimed violated the Constitution. The Election Commission (EC) issued a statement on Sunday clarifying that it has not changed its instructions on the revision process, after several social media posts, including one by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, cited an advertisement by the election body publish ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 14: Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd., one of the world's most awarded healthcare-specialist advertising agencies, has announced the launch of its new hub in Singapore. With over 15 years of experience in solving complex healthcare challenges, Medulla is now looking to create a super-specialist category as the first digital healthcare advertising agency in Asia. New Hub to Deliver Scalable, Specialist Healthcare Marketing Solutions Across APAC. Also Read | New Cheque Clearing System: Banks To Clear Cheques Within Few Hours Starting October 4, Announces RBI. ...Read More >
Kolkata, Dec 16 (PTI) Two days after widespread spectator rampage marred a marquee football event featuring Argentine legend Lionel Messi at the Salt Lake stadium, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accepted the sports minister's resignation, while the state government show-caused the DGP and other senior officers, and suspended a deputy commissioner. A resignation letter written to Banerjee by Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, who has remained in the eye of the storm since the stadium fiasco for his proximity to Messi and his entourage on the pitch allegedly blocking view from galleries, ...Read More >
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the "valuable" right to vote cannot be "washed out" in a manner that creates an "oppressive" situation for citizens as it allowed tribunals set up in West Bengal to hear appeals of voters in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) exercise to even examine fresh documents after verification. The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on being informed that 19 tribunals headed by former high court chief jus ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the poll body of being complicit in vote theft to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi claimed his party has open-and-shut proof of the alleged electoral malpractice, which he likened to an atom bomb that will expose the ECI involvement when revealed. Talking to reporters on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Congress said, Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Ele ...Read More >
Kolkata: The tussle between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the West Bengal government escalated on Monday with the state government withdrawing an AERO and a data entry operator from election duty on Monday. The ECI had directed chief secretary Manoj Pant to suspend four officials and the data entry operator, lodge FIRs against them and start departmental proceedings. Neither were the FIRs lodged nor were they suspended from duty. This is line with what chief minister Mamata Banerjee ...Read More >
The Election Commission is set to launch a pan-India Special Intensive Revision of voters' lists next week, starting with 10-15 states including Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal. This exercise aims to remove illegal migrants by verifying their place of birth, with states having local body elections excluded from the initial phase. The Election Commission is likely to roll out the first of pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list next week beginning with "10 to 15 stat ...Read More >
West Bengal State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas on Tuesday has resigned, amid ire against him from angry fans, and after the chaos during Messi's visit to Yuvabharati Stadium. West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh have also been show caused by the Chief Secretary's office. Major chaos and pandemonium followed during football superstar Lionel Messi's appearance in Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, and probe by a high-powered committee was ordered by Chief Mi ...Read More >
RJD's petition, filed by Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, joins a growing list of political and civil society voices opposing the EC's move. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) directive to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The state is scheduled to go to polls later this year. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal will represent the RJD and has sought an urgent hearing on the matter, expected ...Read More >
Kolkata: The Election Commission on Wednesday gave Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant time till Aug 21 to comply with its directive to suspend four state officers and lodge FIRs against them and a data entry officer. Pant told EC seniors the state had formed a three-member panel to probe the complaints.Pant rushed to Delhi and met EC officials much before the 5 pm deadline he was set on Tuesday. He informed the officials that the state had ordered a fresh probe because it felt the EC's directives were harsh, sources said. However, he was told that the state could probe the matter but he needed ...Read More >
Haryana Congress' Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) will prepare a report and convey its decision to the party high command concerning the issue of alleged cross-voting by five party MLAs during last month's Rajya Sabha elections. The committee, under the chairmanship of party leader Dharampal Malik, met at the Haryana Congress office here on Friday evening. The five MLAs are accused for cross-voting in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal and have been issued a show-cause notice by the Congress. The notice was served for "anti-party activities by deliberately not casti ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a precursor to ordering a pan-india special revision of electoral roll (SIR), EC on Wednesday met the chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and UTs to assess their preparedness in terms of records of the last intensive revision and the status of current voter's list, besides hearing their suggestions on the state/UT-specific documents that may be accepted to prove one's eligibility for inclusion in the roll.EC is likely to order a pan-India SIR soon, possibly later this mont ...Read More >
The turn of events led to a loss of face for West Bengal before the entire world, the petitioner alleged Ripples of Saturday's Salt Lake stadium spectator rampage during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi showcasing event reached the corridors of the Calcutta High Court on Monday after Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Pal allowed the filing of three separate PILs related to the fiasco. The petitions sought the court's intervention to transfer the probe into the stadium violence to central agencie ...Read More >
Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Gayatri Prajapati was attacked by a fellow inmate inside Lucknow Jail on Tuesday. The scuffle took place within the jail premises, after which prison authorities launched an internal inquiry. According to a statement issued by Dr Ramdhani, DIG Prisons, Lucknow Range, the incident occurred after Prajapati allegedly used abusive language towards another inmate, Vishwas Rajput. In response, Vishwas attacked Prajapati using a sharp object inside the cell. DIG Prisons clarified that the incident was not premeditated and dismissed any spec ...Read More >
KOLKATA: The Election Commission on Saturday suspended four senior Kolkata police officers, including a DCP, and ordered disciplinary proceedings against them for their failure to maintain law and order during a roadshow by Union home minister Amit Shah in Bhowanipore on April 2. In the past fortnight since the model code of conduct (MCC) came into effect in Bengal, the poll panel has suspended 17 officials, including five cops, two BDOs and 10 CAPF personnel.The suspensions of Siddartha Dutta (DCP-II, South Division), Priyankar Chakraborty (OC, Alipore), Chandi Charan Banerjee (additional OC, ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Potential voter inducements worth over Rs 650 crore have been seized by Election Commission teams from the five poll-bound states/UT so far, with West Bengal accounting for almost half of these seizures.Since the electronic seizure management system (ESMS) was activated on Feb 26, 2026, flying squads and static surveillance teams have reported cumulative seizures worth Rs 319 crore in West Bengal, Rs 170 crore in Tamil Nadu, Rs 97 crore in Assam, Rs 58 crore in Kerala and Rs 7 crore in Puducherry.A category-wise breakup shows that freebies accounted for the largest percentage of sei ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 5: A total of Rs 319 crore worth cash, liquor and other freebies have been seized by election flying squads and enforcement agencies in West Bengal till Sunday, an official said. Among the five poll-bound States/UTs, Bengal tops the table for recovery of freebies (Rs 150 crore), liquor (Rs 55 crore), precious metal (Rs 39 crore) and cash (Rs 11 crore) which were allegedly being used for inducement of electors. Drugs valued at Rs 65 crore have been recovered from the state by law enforcers in the run-up to the two-phase elections on April 23 and 29, said the ECI statement. Out ...Read More >
As part of its commitment to uphold democratic integrity, the Election Commission is set to launch an extensive revision of the national voter rolls. This initiative will analyze and synchronize current registrants with prior records, ensuring precision in the electoral process. Ramping up its preparations for special intensive revision of voter lists across India, the Election Commission top brass on Wednesday assessed the progress made on mapping the current electors with the voters as per the ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: With under a day left for polling in the assembly elections in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, voters can check to confirm their names on the electoral roll in advance to avoid inconvenience on voting day. The Election Commission has made online verification tools available, allowing voters to check their details either through its official website or the ECINet mobile application.Website: https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in/Kerala: https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll?stateCode=S11Assam: https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll?stateCode=S03Puducherry: https://voters.eci.gov.in/do ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) move to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling the process a direct threat to democratic rights. In a scathing critique, Moitra accused the poll body of acting at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and attempting to disenfranchise millions, particularly migrant and poor voters."The All India Trinamool Congress under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee has pointed out the great danger to democracy which is the new special ...Read More >
Tight security arrangements have been made around West Bengal state secretariat 'Nabanna' in Howrah on Monday as "eligible teachers", whose jobs were annulled following a Supreme Court order, planned a protest march demanding their reinstatement, a senior police officer said. Although the route march of the 'Joggya Sikkhak Sikkhika Adhikar Mancha' (Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum) has not been finalised yet, Howrah City Police deployed senior officers at crucial junctions to maintain law and or ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its voter verification drive in Bihar and West Bengal, claiming it resembled a covert attempt to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the back door. "The EC is trying to bring the NRC in from the back door," he said. Drawing a historical comparison, he added, "In 1935 under the Nazis, you were supposed to be given an ancestor pass. Some proof of paper to show that you are an Indian citizen -- is this the new version of that Nazi Ancestor Pass?"O'Brien de ...Read More >
Kolkata: Trinamool, CPM and Congress responded cautiously to the Election Commission's (EC) announcement of the rollout of the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls on Monday in sharp contrast to the BJP's exuberance. The commission has called an all-party meeting on Tuesday to discuss the modalities of the rollout.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said his party would "democratically protest" any attempt to remove legitimate voters from the rolls. "We have no problem with electoral roll revision but if anyone tries to delete the name of any eligible voter at BJP's behest, we will p ...Read More >