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EC debunks Congress claim of 60 lakh fake voters in MP
The Election Commission has said it has did find any substance in Congress’ allegation of about 60 lakh bogus voters in the electoral rolls of Madhya Pradesh.
The EC had set up two teams to verify the allegations, one team for assembly constituencies of Narela and Bhojpur and the other to check the voters’ lists of Hoshangabad and Seoni-Malwa, reported The Hindu.
Following the reports submitted by the teams, an EC official was reported as saying, “It seems the complaint referred to the figure of about 68 lakh duplicate entries that were identified by the Commission in 2016. Thereafter, the records have been corrected in most cases. The process is under way and by the Assembly polls, the remaining discrepancies are expected to be resolved.”
The report submitted by the committee to the poll panel on Friday states that while there were no fake voters, there were cases of double entries because voter lists were not updated after deaths, or after voters relocated to other areas.
However, even most of these double entries have been removed, the report said. The probe panel said that the number of double entries were 68 lakh in 2015-16 and this has come down to 7 lakh this year.
A week ago, the Congress submitted a complaint to the Election Commission, alleging that there are approximately 60 lakh fake voters registered in the voting list.
Congress state chief Kamal Nath, who led a delegation to the poll panel, had alleged that the voter lists were tampered with at the behest of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government.
The Congress had also submitted a list of the names, saying that it had conducted a survey in around 100 constituencies and found that people with the same name and same photos were enlisted in different constituencies.
Nath, while speaking to News18, had even claimed that the Congress would have won the previous Assembly election in MP had there been no fake voters. “We believe that 12 per cent of the voters are false. Last time the difference between BJP & Congress was 6-7 per cent. Had there been no false voters, the results would have been different,” Nath had said.
During the visit, one of the EC teams detected very small number of such entries, which are further being verified. “In one constituency, data pertaining to 20 polling stations was examined in three days. Our de-duplication software initially identified about 46,000 duplicate entries and on verification, the number went down to 2,442. Of these, a total of 2,397 entries were found to be genuine. In the rest of 44 cases, the team found that 12 voters had passed away and some had shifted residence,” media reports quoted an official as saying.
The official said the number of discrepancies was miniscule.
In Seoni-Malwa, the Congress alleged 2,442 entries were similar across polling stations in the same seat. The fact-finding team found that of these, 2,397 were genuine voters. The remaining 45 names will be deleted because they have either shifted or died. In Narela, 17,684 out of 22,252 entries cited by the Congress in its complaint found to be genuine. In Hoshangabad, all the alleged 552 incorrect entries were found unique. In Bhojpur, the commission found 29 out of the 36 cases genuine.
“The team also personally verified the cases of identical image case in AC (assembly constituency) and found that 449 such cases have already been verified and in 147 cases rectifications have already been carried out,” read the commission’s letter to the Congress, according to The Indian Express report. “…The allegation of large-scale entries of multiple voters in these four Assembly constituencies is not borne out,” it reported.
According to sources, the Election Commission will now write to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Election Officer, asking him to update the electoral roll immediately and to ensure that there are no repeated entries during the Assembly elections later this year, said a News18 report.
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Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moves Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, says census, delimitation necessary
Congress MP Rajneeth Ranjan stated that they want rights, adding that women don’t want to be pitied.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Addressing the house, the Union Law Minister noted that census and delimitation are necessary for the quota bill. He further expressed that the historic bill would bring equality to women.
The Union Law Minister underlined that through the Constitutional Amendment Bill, a section will be inserted in Article 330, Article 332 and Article 334. Through these, 1/3rd of the seats will be reserved in Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies of the country, he continued. Arjun Ram Meghwal further hailed that this bill is a major step ahead.
Initiating a debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill, BJP President J P Nadda praised Prime MInister Narendra Modi for the quota bill. He mentioned that the bill will strengthen women’s empowerment. The BJP President further expressed confidence that the Women’s Reservation Bill will be passed in Rajya Sabha unanimously without any obstacles.
On the other hand, debating on the historic bill, Congress MP Rajneeth Ranjan stated that they want rights, adding that women don’t want to be pitied. Referring to the name of bill, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the Congress MP remarked that the government should not bow down to them, but provide them equal rights and equal opportunities.
As far as reports are concerned, the Rajya Sabha will allocate seven and a half hours for the bill’s discussion and it is widely expected to receive approval in the Upper House. After the bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha, it will require the approval of the majority of state assemblies. Notably, the implementation of the historic bill will occur following a delimitation exercise based on census data completion. Reportedly, this is the seventh attempt to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
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Women Reservation Bill: Here’s a look at 20 states with 50% quota for women in panchayats, municipalities
At present, there are 15 lakh elected women representatives in panchayats and municipalities across the country.
Taking a significant step ahead, the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the special session of the Parliament on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the Opposition to unanimously pass the bill, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. The Women’s Reservation bill was stuck for almost three decades.
While the Women’s Reservation Bill that seeks to provide a 33 per cent quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies remained stuck, around 20 states witnessed 50% reservations for women in local government bodies. As far as reports are concerned, at present, there are 15 lakh elected women representatives in panchayats and municipalities across the country.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have made provisions for 50% reservation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
Evidently, the move for reservation for women in local bodies dates back to 1992 and 1993, when the then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao reintroduced the Constitution Amendment Bills 72 and 73, which reserved one third (33%) of all seats and chairperson posts for women in rural and urban local bodies. The Bills were passed by both the houses. Earlier, in May 1989, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill to provide one-third reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies. The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha but failed to get passed in Rajya Sabha in September 1989.
Echoing the contribution of the aforesaid leaders in Women’s Reservation, several Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, KC Venugopal took the credit of the bill. However, though the Women’s Reservation Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha, the legislation will come into effect after the next delimitation exercise, which might be carried out after 2026. At present, only 14% of the members in the Indian Parliament are women.
Furthermore, it is to be noted that in 1988, the National Perspective Plan for Women recommended the provision of reservation for women at various political levels, from Panchayati Raj institutions to Parliament.
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Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury holds Constitution of India in hand as Congress MPs enter new Parliament building | Watch
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury emphasized the importance of the old Parliament building.
Leader of Opposition in the Parliament Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury held the Constitution of India in hand as Congress MPs including Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Gogoi entered into the new Parliament building, designated as Parliament House of India. Following the programme at Central Hall on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other MPs moved towards the new Parliament building.
Earlier, addressing at the Central Hall, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury emphasized the importance of the old Parliament building. He expressed that he feels elevated and elated for standing in the podium that has witnessed a caravan of historical episodes and events in the midst of the galaxy of luminaries who had racked up their brains and burned the midnight oil to frame the Constitution of India.
In addition, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also questioned the timeframe that the Centre has set for the nation to turn into a developed nation. He asked why India cannot become a developed country before 2047. He also called for sustainable solutions and measures to resolve the nation’s issues.
Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge recalled Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, and thanked the Prime Minister for remembering it during his opening speech on Monday. Speaking at the Central Hall, the Congress President said working together is the only way to build the country. He also remembered the contributions made by Rajendra Prasad, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, BR Ambedkar, GV Malvankar, and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan among others.
The parliamentary proceeding will now shift from the old building to the state-of-the-art new facility. Notably, the historic shift takes place on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. On the first day of the Parliament Special Session, all members of the Parliament gathered at the old Parliament building to recall their experiences there. PM Modi also paid tribute to every brick of the old Parliament building, mentioning that it would inspire the coming generations.
