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BJP nominates Laxmi Verma to Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh

The BJP has announced Laxmi Verma as its Rajya Sabha nominee from Chhattisgarh, with her election considered certain given the party’s Assembly strength.

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Laxmi verma of BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced Laxmi Verma as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh, naming her as part of a broader list of nominees released for six states. The decision comes after weeks of internal consultations and is being viewed as backing the preference of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai.

Party deliberations and final selection

According to party sources, seven names were initially considered before the list was narrowed to three — Laxmi Verma, Narayan Chandel and Krishnamurthy Bandhi. After discussions at the central level, the BJP leadership finalised Verma’s candidature.

Verma, 55, hails from Mudpar village in Simga block of Balodabazar district. She has been associated with the BJP since 1990, beginning as a primary member and gradually rising through the organisational ranks.

Long association with BJP and public roles

Her political journey includes serving as the representative of Raipur MP Ramesh Bais in 2000. In 2001, she was elected to the BJP Mahila Morcha Working Committee, a role she held for four years.

Between 2010 and 2014, Verma was part of the National Working Committee of the BJP Panchayati Raj Cell. She also remained a member of the BJP Mahila Morcha Working Committee from 2010 to 2022. From 2021 to 2025, she served as State Vice President of the BJP in Chhattisgarh. During this period, she was entrusted with responsibilities as Gariaband organisation in-charge and BJP media spokesperson between 2021 and 2024.

Verma’s public life began in 1994 when she was elected councillor from Ward No. 7 of the Raipur Municipal Corporation. In 2010, she became president of the Raipur District Panchayat. Since October 7, 2024, she has been serving as a member of the Chhattisgarh State Women’s Commission.

Social and community engagement

Apart from party responsibilities, Verma has been active in several social organisations. She became president of Shakti Mahila Manch, Raipur, in 1998 and received the District Youth Award from Nehru Yuva Kendra, Raipur, in 1999.

She has also been associated with the Labor Rehabilitation Committee in Raipur and has served as Chief Patron of the Chhattisgarh Ekta Mazdoor Kalyan Sangh since 2009. Since 2011, she has been an advisory member of the Family Court, Raipur. Additionally, she has held positions in the All India Panchayat Parishad and the Chhattisgarh Scout Guides.

Verma is regarded as an influential figure within the Manwa Kurmi community and currently serves as National General Secretary of the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha Women’s Wing.

Rajya Sabha arithmetic

Chhattisgarh presently has five members in the Rajya Sabha. Two seats, currently held by Congress leaders Phoolodevi Netam and KTS Tulsi, are set to fall vacant on April 9, 2026. Two other Congress MPs — Rajiv Shukla and Ranjeet Ranjan — have terms lasting until June 29, 2028. BJP leader Devendra Pratap Singh will continue in office until April 2, 2030.

With 90 MLAs in the Chhattisgarh Assembly and two Rajya Sabha seats going to polls, the winning quota is calculated at 31 first-preference votes. Given the BJP’s current strength in the Assembly, Verma’s election is widely seen as certain once voting is held.

India News

Over 43 lakh names removed from Jharkhand draft voter rolls after special revision

The Election Commission has released Jharkhand’s draft electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision, with over 43 lakh names removed and 83.51% of registered voters submitting enumeration forms.

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The Election Commission on Wednesday published the draft electoral rolls for Jharkhand following the completion of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with more than 43 lakh names removed from the voter list.

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said the state had 2,64,63,236 registered voters before the Special Intensive Revision exercise began. Following the completion of the enumeration process, the draft electoral roll now contains 2,21,01,249 electors.

According to the CEO, 2,21,01,249 electors, or 83.51 per cent of the total registered voters, submitted their enumeration forms by July 29, reflecting strong participation in the revision exercise.

Door-to-door verification conducted during revision exercise

The enumeration exercise for the Special Intensive Revision began on June 30 and continued until July 29. During this period, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carried out door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms submitted by eligible voters.

Why over 43 lakh names were removed

A total of 43,61,987 names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls after being identified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) category.

The CEO said the deleted names include:

  • 7.63 lakh voters who had died.
  • 15.92 lakh voters who had permanently shifted.
  • 14.50 lakh voters who were untraceable or remained absent during the verification exercise.
  • 4.38 lakh voters whose names were found registered at multiple locations.

In addition, around 1.16 lakh voters refused to sign the enumeration forms and did not return the completed forms to Booth Level Officers during the enumeration phase, the CEO added.

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India News

Lok Sabha passes Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026 to recognise digital bank records as evidence

The Lok Sabha has passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, replacing the colonial-era law and recognising digital, electronic and cloud-based bank records as admissible evidence in courts.

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The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, paving the way for digital and electronic bank records to be recognised as admissible evidence in courts. The proposed law aims to replace the colonial-era Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 and update the legal framework in line with modern banking practices.

Bill passed amid opposition protests

The legislation was passed through a voice vote after persistent disruptions in the House prevented a detailed discussion.

When the Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 pm following an earlier adjournment, opposition members continued raising slogans despite repeated appeals from the Chair to take up the Bill for discussion.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Bill for consideration and passage amid the disruptions. With the protests continuing, the House passed the legislation without a debate. The Bill had been introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

What the new Bill proposes

The proposed law, to be known as the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026, seeks to modernise the legal framework governing bank records used in legal proceedings.

According to the statement of objects and reasons, rapid technological advancement and the growing use of digital banking have made it necessary to update the existing law, which was enacted when banking records were maintained primarily in physical form.

The Bill expands the definition of “bankers’ books” to include records maintained in physical, electronic, digital, virtual, cloud-based and other formats. This aims to create a technology-neutral and future-ready legal framework for the banking sector.

Key provisions of the legislation

The Bill also proposes standardised certificate formats and allows authentication through manual, digital or electronic signatures. It expressly recognises electronic bank records as admissible evidence and permits their production in either physical or electronic form during legal proceedings.

Another provision empowers the central government to extend the applicability of the law to other entities or classes of entities operating in the financial sector, subject to specified conditions.

The legislation also defines the term “special cause”, under which a court may direct a bank officer to produce bankers’ books or appear as a witness to prove transactions, accounts or other matters in legal proceedings where the bank is not a party.

Why the law is being replaced

The existing Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 was enacted during the pre-independence period to allow certified copies of bank records to be accepted as evidence without requiring the original records to be produced before the court.

Since the law was framed when banking records were predominantly maintained in physical form, the government has proposed replacing it with legislation better suited to today’s digital banking ecosystem.

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India News

Meta executive Joel Kaplan apologises over restriction of PM Modi’s social media post

Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan apologised to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after the company admitted it mistakenly restricted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post before restoring it.

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Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan on Wednesday apologised to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on behalf of the company after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post was mistakenly restricted.

Kaplan said he conveyed the apology to the minister over what he described as an error that led to the restriction of the Prime Minister’s post.

Meta says restriction was an error

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shared a vertical video on July 23 in which he addressed the public directly. According to Meta, the video was briefly removed from Facebook and Instagram before being restored.

The company attributed the removal to a technical glitch and said the content had been taken down in error before being reinstated on its platforms.

Government found explanation inadequate

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reviewed the incident and described Meta’s initial explanation as “inadequate”. The company subsequently maintained that the removal was unintentional and restored the post.

India remains Meta’s largest user market, with hundreds of millions of people using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

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