Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of sharing a cropped and out-of-context video of Home Minister Amit Shah over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The latest exchange comes amid a growing political dispute between the BJP and the Opposition over SIR and allegations concerning the electoral roll revision process.

Joshi questioned Gandhi’s understanding of the issue and challenged him to take up the matter in Parliament rather than relying on selectively edited video clips.

The remarks came after Amit Shah challenged Gandhi to discuss SIR in Parliament. Shah said the government was prepared to hold a special session if the Congress leader wanted a debate on the issue.

Rahul Gandhi shares Amit Shah video

The controversy intensified after Rahul Gandhi shared a video featuring two statements by Amit Shah concerning whether SIR could be discussed in Parliament.

Gandhi used the video to question Shah’s position and urged him to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to agree to an open debate on the issue.

The video highlighted what Gandhi described as differing positions on the discussion of SIR in Parliament. The Congress leader has continued to press for a debate on the electoral roll revision exercise.

Joshi challenges Gandhi over SIR

Responding to Gandhi’s position, Joshi accused him of circulating a cropped video that did not present Shah’s remarks in their complete context.

Joshi also questioned the Congress leader’s criticism of the electoral process, arguing that the party had faced defeats in Lok Sabha elections before the current SIR exercise.

The BJP has maintained that its concerns about the electoral rolls should be addressed through a discussion in Parliament. Amit Shah has separately pointed to the 2014, 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections while arguing that there was no SIR during those elections and Congress still lost.

BJP-Congress clash over SIR

The dispute over SIR has become a major political flashpoint, with the Opposition raising concerns about electoral rolls and the BJP defending the revision process.

The latest confrontation follows protests by the INDIA bloc against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and demands concerning the Election Commission. The BJP, meanwhile, has challenged the Opposition to take its arguments to Parliament.

The disagreement over the Amit Shah video is therefore part of the wider political battle between the BJP and Congress over SIR, electoral rolls and the conduct of elections.

The Election Commission has given another opportunity to certain voters whose names were not included in the draft electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The decision applies to Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland. It covers electors who were issued Enumeration Forms but whose names were left out of the draft rolls after being marked under the ASDD categories — Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate.

The move is aimed at ensuring that eligible voters get an opportunity to have their cases considered before the final electoral rolls are published. The EC has also directed officials to prevent duplicate enrolments while ensuring that eligible electors are not left out.

Lists of excluded voters to be displayed again

The Election Commission has directed officials to display booth-wise lists of voters falling under the specified categories again at the concerned polling stations.

The lists will also be made available at panchayat bhawans and urban local body offices and uploaded on the websites of the respective Chief Electoral Officers. They will mention the probable reasons why the voters’ names were not included in the draft rolls.

Fresh enumeration forms for affected voters

District election officials and Electoral Registration Officers have been asked to generate partially filled Enumeration Forms afresh through the ECINET system.

Booth Level Officers will be tasked with contacting the affected voters and helping ensure that the forms reach them. This can include physical delivery as well as communication through WhatsApp, email or SMS where contact details are available.

Voters can also download and fill their forms through the Election Commission’s website or ECINET using the same EPIC number that existed before their names were deleted from the draft roll.

What voters who have shifted need to do

The EC has made separate provisions for voters who have shifted their residence within the same state.

Such electors will not need to submit Form 8 for this process. They can submit the Enumeration Form along with a statement giving their new address and Assembly constituency, along with proof of address.

For homeless voters who do not have address documents, the Election Commission has provided for a field verification report by the Booth Level Officer to establish residence.

Forms will be verified before inclusion

The fresh submissions will not automatically result in inclusion in the electoral roll. The applications will be examined by the concerned Electoral Registration Officers under Rule 21(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Forms accepted after verification will be kept separately for inclusion in the final electoral rolls under the SIR exercise.

The Election Commission has also directed state and Delhi election officials to establish monitoring mechanisms to oversee the implementation of the process and ensure that eligible electors get the opportunity to seek inclusion while duplicate entries are prevented.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has imposed Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect as air quality deteriorated ahead of Diwali.

The decision was taken as a precautionary measure after Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 382 on Friday, placing the national capital in the “Very Poor” category. 

GRAP 3 comes into effect across NCR

The CAQM’s Sub-Committee on GRAP decided to invoke Stage III across the entire National Capital Region.

GRAP is an emergency response framework under which pollution-control measures become progressively stricter as air quality deteriorates. The four stages correspond to different levels of air pollution, with “Poor” covering AQI levels of 201-300, “Very Poor” 301-400, “Severe” 401-450 and “Severe Plus” above 450.

The Stage III decision comes less than two days before Diwali, when authorities are particularly concerned about a further deterioration in air quality.

Pollution levels remain a concern

Delhi’s average AQI of 382 indicates that pollution levels have remained high across the capital. The move to GRAP Stage III is intended to prevent further deterioration in air quality across Delhi-NCR.

The latest decision follows earlier pollution-control measures implemented under the revised GRAP framework as air quality worsened in the region. 

What GRAP means for Delhi-NCR

The GRAP framework provides for increasingly stringent measures as pollution levels rise. Stage III brings stricter restrictions than the earlier stages, particularly in areas linked to dust and emissions.

The latest CAQM decision applies across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect. Details of the measures to be enforced under the newly invoked Stage III should be followed through official directions issued by the authorities.

The development comes amid heightened concern over air pollution in the national capital region ahead of Diwali.