- 2 months ago
SIR shocker in Maharashtra: 2 crore-plus names out of draft voter list
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00:08Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today, your prime time destination
00:12news, newsmakers, talking points. Tuesday night, the big talking point tonight. The
00:17Supreme Court has squashed FIRs against student protesters. The Cockroach Janata Party has
00:23called off its planned march. Are we seeing a deal in the making? Ashutosh Ranka of the
00:29CJP on that big CJP government breakthrough. Another big question, over two crore voters
00:35are out of the electoral rolls in Maharashtra. Are we seeing voter exclusion or voter list
00:42cleanup? We're going to talk about that too. Also, we'll be joined by India's women's hockey
00:49team and we'll tell you why. But first, as always, it's time for the Nine Headlines at
00:54nine. In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court directs squashing of all FIRs against
01:02student protesters in the country. Delhi police can file fresh FIRs only against those with
01:09criminal antecedents. CJP calls off September 5th protests. Government welcomes the move.
01:17A big political war breaks over India's GDP growth numbers. Prime Minister Modi launches
01:24Jhoot Ki Goonj attack on the Congress. Opposition questions the GDP calculation methodology.
01:33SCO summit in Bishkek concludes with Modi's double handshake with Xi and Putin. Prime Minister raises
01:41issue of cross-border terror urges to end terror funding.
01:49Raul Gandhi renews his vote-chory attack over deletion of voters in Delhi and Maharashtra,
01:54says election commission will ensure BJP's victory at all costs. BJP once again defends the purification
02:01of electoral rolls. The CBI now probes a 28.87 crore rice scam in the National Capital case filed
02:12against ex-officials. Aam Admi Party trains its guns on Rekha Gupta's government, seeks probe
02:19against a BJP minister as well, who they say is the kingpin.
02:26Ram Mandir to get its new CEO very soon. Three names shortlisted for the top post. Final decision
02:32to be taken in the Ram Mandir Trust meet tomorrow.
02:37Mamata Banerjee's niece is found dead at her residence in Birbun. BJP claims she was allegedly
02:42one of the beneficiaries of a teacher's recruitment scam.
02:48Major security breach at Hyderabad. Controlment after 12 weapons along with ammunition go missing
02:54from the Madras Regiment. Case filed, probe launched by the police.
03:00And Nepal's dead toll crosses 1,000. 1,000 dead bodies recovered so far. Nearly 4,000 people
03:07still missing. Rescue operations still underway in full swing.
03:23The big breaking news is coming in from Nepal, which where the debt toll has crossed a thousand.
03:30A country reeling from the deadly flash floods that hit the Himalayan nation on August 26th.
03:37That's right. The debt toll crossing the thousand mark, with nearly 4,000 people still missing.
03:43Over 11,000 people have been rescued till now. But the worrying signs are that there could be
03:49more monsoon rains in the offing, making rescue operations even more difficult at the moment.
03:56Remember, a number of those who are missing remain Indian pilgrims and tourists.
04:02Now, even as Nepal struggles to come to terms with the death and destruction,
04:06unleashed by the Himalayan tsunami that struck it on August 26th, one image is standing out.
04:12It is of a house, a green house, that survived nature's fury and its occupants who've lived
04:18to tell the tale. Ashutosh Mishra has been reporting continuously from the ground in Nepal.
04:24This is his report.
04:41A disaster of staggering proportions.
04:45This is his report.
04:46Homes buried under mud and debris, vehicles swept away, roads destroyed, but amid this unprecedented
05:04devastation, this turquoise green house in Trishuli stands almost untouched, while raging flash floods
05:19swallowed everything around it. On August 26th, the floodwaters surged through the region.
05:33But this house stood, and so did the family inside.
05:41Lakshmi Pandey says the family feared the worst. She recalls chanting prayers, worried that her
05:48school-going son could be left alone and orphan.
05:59In the house, the family stayed together.
06:20Waiting for the fury outside to pass, her husband, Prakash Pyakurel, remembers thinking.
06:39But the family survived.
06:46Waif Lakshmi says the family has been reborn.
07:07Her mother, daughter, in-laws, husband and neighbour all survived.
07:15A house that became a shelter from nature's fury.
07:19A family that found safety.
07:21While the world outside was being washed away.
07:27Was it a miracle?
07:28Or was it the house's location and topography that saved it?
07:44The house's location and the water was falling.
07:46And when she fell, fell, fell, fell, fell.
07:48When she came to this house, look at the walls.
07:50The pillars are the most below.
07:52The pillars are made from the stone.
07:54However, the pillars and beam have been removed.
07:58The water started to increase the water.
07:59The first temple went to the other.
08:01The third temple went to the other.
08:11Amid the devastation left behind by the Nepal floods, this house has become a symbol of survival.
08:18While the raging waters destroyed everything around it, this structure remained standing,
08:24giving this family a chance to live through what they believed were their final moments.
08:31For those still waiting for their loved ones, every excavator movement brings hope.
08:40Every tunnel cleared brings a possibility, and every survivor found is a victory against one of Nepal's worst disasters.
08:51In the middle of the devastation, one turquoise house still stands, a house that sheltered a family,
08:58and a story of survival amid Nepal's nightmare.
09:04With Ashutosh Mishra from Trisholi in Nepal, Mural Report, India Today.
09:15What a story, a turquoise house that survived the Nepal flash floods.
09:21Call it providence, or simply nature.
09:27Okay, let me turn from there to our top political story of the day,
09:32where the Kokruj Janda Party has withdrawn its planned 5th September protest call
09:37after the centre assured the Supreme Court today that it would honour its commitments to the protesters
09:43by withdrawing all FIRs against them.
09:45The top court stepped in, quashed those FIRs under a special jurisdiction of Article 142.
09:53The move is being hailed as a breakthrough, but the question now is,
09:57will this pave the way for a lasting resolution between the government and the CJP?
10:03To discuss what transpired in the top court,
10:06I will be joined shortly by the CJP's co-convener, Ashutosh Ranka.
10:10But first, this report.
10:14The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed FIRs filed across the country over the youth protest
10:19held against paper leaks between July 20 and July 25.
10:24The court, which used its special powers under Article 142,
10:28added that no state or union territory shall register any new FIR linked to the protest.
10:36CGP told the Supreme Court that it is withdrawing the call for September 5th protest march
10:41after the centre assured the top court that it would stand by its commitments to protesters,
10:47including the withdrawal of FIRs filed in connection to the July 20th Jantar Mantar agitation over paper leaks.
11:13During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Apex Court that the centre had given
11:19three key assurances during its meeting with protest leaders.
11:22First, FIRs against protesters for incidents between July 20 and 26 will not be pursued.
11:30Second, no fresh FIRs will be registered in connection with those incidents.
11:36And third, compensation will be worked out for the families of need aspirants who died by suicide.
11:41However, the centre has sought three months to work out the modalities for payment.
11:48The Delhi police has been allowed to continue proceedings in FIRs involving 2,873 people
11:55who were present at the Jantar Mantar protest, citing what he described as serious criminal antecedents.
12:02These allegedly include offences such as murder, rape and abduction.
12:06The Supreme Court has also made it clear that the centre and Delhi police are at liberty to proceed in
12:12these cases
12:12in accordance with the details placed before the court.
12:16The centre, on the other hand, has welcomed the CJP's decision to withdraw the September 5th March.
12:41So, for now, the September 5th showdown in the capital is off.
12:46But the focus now shifts from protest to implementation of promises
12:50and whether the assurances made in court can translate into a lasting resolution.
12:56With Srishti Ojha, Bureau Report, India Today.
13:07So, do we finally have a deal between the Kokhrut Janata Party and the government of India?
13:15That's the big question I want to take to Ashutosh Ranka, newsmaker, co-convener of the CJP.
13:21Ashutosh Ranka, after the Supreme Court today seemed to bring the two sides together,
13:27whether you have tweeted, in lieu of the 90 days deadline given by the government of India
13:32for compensating the families of NEET victims and quashing all FIRs against protesting students,
13:37you are calling off the 5th September, March.
13:41Are we right now that you've decided to give the benefit of doubt to the government of India
13:46that there is a rebuilding of trust suddenly between the CJP and the Modi government?
13:52No, Razdeep, the benefit of doubt was being given for last one month
13:55and only after we felt that there was a lot of back and forth happening from the side of government
14:01and the intentions of government were not really clear
14:04was when we had called for the September 5th protest.
14:07However, given the stance taken by the government via Solicitor General today in the Supreme Court
14:14where all the FIRs being quashed was agreed upon and across the country all the FIRs now stand quashed.
14:21And then secondly, a very clear deadline of 90 days was given as far as the compensation part was concerned.
14:29That meant that the government is now finally acting on the deal that was already made on July 25th
14:35and that was the reason we have decided to call off the protest.
14:38So effectively, you are saying that so long as within this 90 days deadline,
14:42the government compensates the victims of those who committed death by suicide during NEET
14:47and takes away all the FIRs, no more agitations, am I correct?
14:52At least for the next 90 days.
14:55FIRs have already been quashed by the Supreme Court today under the Article 142.
14:59That's already done.
15:01Yeah, but just a minute.
15:02Apart from that, the application for quashing FIR, the union government has also told the court
15:07that they will continue prosecuting 2,873 individuals in Delhi with serious criminal antecedents
15:15as per the National Crime Record Bureau.
15:17So, they've made a distinction.
15:19You're okay with that?
15:20Yes.
15:20That we will carry on FIRs against those who resorted to violence.
15:24Other protesters, student protesters, no FIRs.
15:26See, Razdeep, we were very clear that if there were heinous criminals out there in the protest,
15:33it was the responsibility of Delhi police from the first place that why were these criminals
15:37allowed to go to Jantar Mantar in the first place?
15:39Now that the police has made a very clear distinction between those people and the peaceful protesters,
15:45I think that's a very sort of well-noted point.
15:48And we have been very clear that there should not have been any FIR against the protester or organizer in
15:54the first place
15:55because it was a peaceful protest from day one.
15:58Now that the government has finally acted upon the deal already made on July 25th,
16:02the matter stands closed from our side.
16:04Okay, you're saying the matter stands closed as far as FIRs against the student protesters,
16:09given what the Supreme Court has said today.
16:10But among your original demands was one crore per family for needling suicide victims.
16:17The center has so far only committed to honorary compensation as per rules.
16:22And many would say this was an unreasonable demand of CJP in the first place.
16:26Do you have any, is that a demand you're still sticking to?
16:30Rajdeep, I am in car right now and I have just visited the family of Pradeep Meghwal.
16:36A young lad from Seeker who committed suicide after the need paper leaked.
16:42And I'll actually share the visuals of that family's house on my Twitter account very soon.
16:48Just look at their house, just hear their story out,
16:52how they afforded 2-3 lakhs to actually pay for their son's coaching
16:56and what it means for them to lose their son to a mafia, to a paper mafia.
17:04One crore, I don't think any amount can bring back Pradeep.
17:09But it will be some compensation, it will be some relief for families like Pradeep's
17:15who come from low-income groups, from low-middle-income groups.
17:20Their only way to upwards mobility was educating their child
17:24and they have lost their child to the system.
17:26One crore is the least any government can do.
17:29No, but the government is not committing to that.
17:31Government is saying honorary compensation as per rules.
17:35Do you have a commitment from the government that they will give one crore?
17:39Rajdeep, again, I think it will be shameful for the government
17:45that if they are not able to even honour the minimum compensation
17:48for the students of our own country.
17:51These are students from our own country.
17:52But as I said, given the developments in the last 2-3 days,
17:56because the last 2-3 days is when the government showed quite proactiveness
18:01and a very clear stance from the government
18:05that they wanted the compensation to be given out,
18:07they were just working out the final modalities
18:09because the states had to be involved
18:11and they were trying to make sure that nothing sort of comes in between.
18:17That's the only reason why they want some more days
18:19and they have already said, I think Mr. Mehta already said on record today
18:23that they'll try to get it done in less than a month or a couple of months.
18:26Three months is to be on the safe side.
18:28So, again, I really hope that what happened in last one month
18:33won't be repeated and what has been said on record
18:37in Supreme Court today, the 90-day deadline would be honoured.
18:41There is, of course, one more demand you had at the time for the pellet guns.
18:45Apology from the forces that you accused of using those pellet guns on the protesters.
18:51There's still no clarity on that from the government.
18:53In fact, government denies even till date officially that any pellet guns were used.
18:58I think, Rajdeep, if it's raining outside
19:01and you just say that it's not raining outside,
19:03doesn't mean that it's not raining outside.
19:05So, the government cannot run away from the fact that pellet guns were indeed used.
19:10There are now RTIs out there from the hospitals
19:13where the hospitals have actually mentioned
19:15number of people who were injured by the use of these pellet guns.
19:18So, the government can say whatever it wants.
19:20There was use of pellet guns.
19:22It's out there in the public.
19:23And as the Home Minister of this country,
19:25Mr. Amit Shah needs to come out in the public.
19:29He needs to stop hiding himself.
19:30And he needs to tell what happened, under whose direction it happened,
19:34and what is being done to make sure this is not repeated again.
19:37Is that a core demand?
19:38Is that also one of your demands, though?
19:40Does that demand still stay?
19:42Again, see, the three core demands that we had made from day one,
19:47we have been very clear.
19:48It was around Mr. Pradhan's resignation.
19:49It was around the 1CR compensation.
19:51And it was around the withdrawal of FIs and no future FIs.
19:55So, those were the three core demands.
19:57But this, given the events of 20th July,
20:02it is only relevant, it is only logical that the government comes
20:07and publicly tells what happened on the day of July 20th.
20:11I will therefore ask you in conclusion,
20:13am I to now believe that you put July 20th behind you,
20:17you are looking ahead, whatever now happens,
20:19you are now looking at your next big campaign,
20:22which are sort of getting schools right,
20:25going around the country.
20:26Is the Kokrut Janata Party in that sense now putting July 20th behind
20:29and looking at its next role or next adaptation?
20:32Radhi Bhai, as I said, I visited Pradeep's family.
20:35And for them, the need paper leak can never be put behind.
20:39It can never be done.
20:40Any amount of compensation, any amount of support,
20:43any amount of relief from the government,
20:44or for the matter of fact, from CJP's side,
20:47cannot, you know, put an end to what they are going through.
20:50Nothing can end it.
20:51Yes.
20:52But we will continue fighting for the students of this country.
20:56We are now focused on visiting government schools,
20:58making sure that there is accountability around government schools.
21:01And that will very much be the focus of our campaign for now.
21:04Okay.
21:05I'm going to leave it there, Ashutosh Ranga,
21:07for joining me here at the top of the show.
21:09Thank you very much.
21:13Okay.
21:14From there to another big story.
21:16Maharashtra's voter list revision has reignited a political battle
21:20over allegations of vote chori or vote theft.
21:23The draft electoral roll that was released by the EC yesterday
21:27left out more than two crore voters out of the nine crore plus electoral roll.
21:33It's a drop of over 21%.
21:35Rahul Gandhi has now questioned the sharp variation in voter numbers
21:39between the 2024 Lok Sabha Assembly and now the 2026 SIR.
21:45In a fresh media post,
21:46the leader of the opposition once again alleged vote theft.
21:49The election commission claims the two crore figure
21:52is not the final number of deletions.
21:54This draft roll is now open to claims and objections.
22:24The draft roll is right.
22:52So as the draft electoral rolls come out for different parts of the country,
22:56the big question rears its head again.
22:58Is the SIR an exercise in voter exclusion, as critics allege,
23:04or is it a much-needed clean-up of electoral rolls, as its proponents are claiming?
23:10Joining me now, two very distinguished voices, Dr. S.Y. Qureshi, former Chief Election Commissioner,
23:15and Ashok Lavasa, former Election Commissioner.
23:19Mr. Lavasa, let's look at the numbers first.
23:21Delhi's draft electoral roll excludes nearly 48 lakh voters out of 1.45 crores.
23:28That's about 30%.
23:29Take a look at Maharashtra, 2.07 crore names excluded out of about 9 crores.
23:35That's about 20-25%.
23:37Telingana, 73.39.
23:39So in almost every state, about 25-30% voters being excluded.
23:44Is this a much-needed clean-up, or are the numbers troublingly high?
23:49Well, thank you very much for inviting me.
23:52But to answer your question straight away, I think the data which has come out so far
23:58does include an extraordinary number of deletions or exclusions, as you call them.
24:06So clearly, the data put out by the CEOs or by the ECI so far would indicate that large number
24:17of people have been excluded.
24:19Now, for example, I was looking at the data of Delhi, which was published in the newspapers today.
24:27And I was quite confused because almost, as you said, 47 lakh people have been deleted.
24:34Now, there are two categories.
24:35One is duplicate and one is dead.
24:37That probably is understandable.
24:40But there is one set of data, which is about 43 lakh something, which accounts for absent shifted others.
24:51Now, I would be able to make sense of this if this data is segregated and presented.
24:58But even if it is, there are some other questions which come to my mind.
25:05One is that it would be useful to compare this data with similar exercises or the revisions that have been
25:14done in Delhi in the past.
25:16First, because is the migration in Delhi, as much as 30% of the total electoral base, appears to be
25:26very high.
25:26So one needs to compare because those who are absent or shifted, that is why the data needs to be
25:34presented separately.
25:35Because if you're absent, does it automatically mean that you've shifted out of Delhi or it is just that you
25:43have not submitted your form?
25:45So it could be a bit of both, Mr. Lawasa.
25:48But the worry is, of course, that the, I mean, the government will claim or the EC will claim there
25:53are a number of people who migrated.
25:55These are all cities, for example, Mumbai, high number of migrants take place.
26:00So to avoid duplication of votes, they may be otherwise have voted in their home states of a Bihar UP.
26:05This time the government is being more careful, the EC is being more careful.
26:09In Delhi also, city of migrants.
26:11It could be that this is reflecting that high amount of a mobile population.
26:16That is why, Rajdeep, I said that unless they put out the data of people who have shifted and compare
26:24it with earlier data of migration, does it compare?
26:28I would feel that this is much on the higher side.
26:32The second question which comes to my mind is that if you look at the projections of population in Delhi,
26:40although there is no census, but there is a system by which Election Commission always makes a projection of the
26:48expected population.
26:50Now, obviously, the population has grown.
26:53It has not come down.
26:54So how is it that the number of electors would come down so drastically?
27:00So that is the second question that occurred to me, because as far as inclusion is concerned, the two objectives
27:08of eligible people not being excluded and ineligible people not being included.
27:14So I find that as far as the eligible voters' inclusion is concerned, there is no increase.
27:21Actually, there should have been an increase.
27:23And as far as ineligible voter exclusion is concerned, we have seen it in other cases in SIR also, that
27:31these people who are absent or who have shifted, they are not ineligible as such.
27:37So where are the ineligible people?
27:39That is a question that we need to ask.
27:41Because in all states, if you have people who are absent and shifted, and the total aggregate number in the
27:48country has gone down, then there is a big question mark on the census data.
27:54There would also, I'll come back to what you've raised, but Dr. Qureshi, there would also be a big question
27:59mark then on electoral rolls before SIR.
28:02Because if this is the scale of exclusion or deletions, it means that in 2024, for example, when the last
28:10general elections were held, are we saying that the number of voters ineligible were as high as 25-30%
28:19in some parts of the country?
28:21We've even got in Hyderabad, for example, in certain constituencies, the number of deletions are actually even more than the
28:28number of voters in the 2023 elections of Telangana.
28:33So are we saying that previous elections in recent times before SIR, including ones that you supervised, were deeply flawed
28:41because it had a number of ineligible voters who are only now being weeded out?
28:46Good question.
28:49I would ask another question, I would ask another question on the same subject.
28:532024, June, elections were held and the government, present-day government was formed.
28:59Were they based on a faulty electoral roll?
29:04If they were, then the election should be cancelled and let us have a new election.
29:08Now the rolls, which were perfect in June 2024, they were perfect in January 2025.
29:142025, they became faulty in June 2025.
29:19In six months later, they all became so faulty that they had to be put in the waste paper basket.
29:24And they needed to do reconstruction of the electoral roll from scratch.
29:32So that is the basic flaw in the philosophy.
29:36And second point…
29:37So the EC, sorry to intervene, the EC could well respond and say yes.
29:41There were anomalies.
29:43There were question marks.
29:44And therefore, even political parties were claiming, at least privately, that there were problems with the electoral rolls.
29:50Now they have been corrected.
29:51Very good.
29:52Then let us hold a 2024 election again.
29:56It was based on a faulty electoral roll.
30:00So faulty that 33% were non-voters and they voted if it was so defective.
30:06So we can't have a government based on a defective electoral roll.
30:10All right.
30:11If they have the guts, let us order a new election.
30:14Possible.
30:15No, you see, I'll give you an example, Mr. Qureshi, for example, which, you know, Rahul Gandhi today put a
30:22question to the election commission, which is correct.
30:25He said Lok Sabha Maharashtra had 9.29 crore voters.
30:30Five months later, when the when the assembly elections were held, the number went to 9.7 crore voters.
30:38SIR 2026 has brought it down to 7.78 crore.
30:41Which is the real figure?
30:439.29 crore, Lok Sabha 2024, Vidhan Sabha 9.7.
30:47That's a rise of 40 lakhs in just four months.
30:50Or now SIR 7.78 crore.
30:53Which is the real number?
30:54Yeah, that's a very good question.
30:57And everybody should ask that number.
30:59I want to know, you want to know, what exactly is the number?
31:02Suddenly, where did they disappear?
31:04Now, earlier you were discussing about Delhi.
31:07You know, one third, 33 percent of their votes disappeared.
31:11Now, Delhi is not a Bihar or a UP where people are migrating from.
31:16They're not migrating out.
31:17Here, there is a migration in.
31:19If there is some deletion of people migrating, there has to be inclusion of people who have migrated into the
31:26state.
31:27So, that is not reflected.
31:29That is because we don't know the figure.
31:30Nobody knows any figures.
31:32No, they may have dual addresses, Dr. Qureshi.
31:34They may have given an address in UP and in Delhi.
31:38So, they may be double.
31:39You don't want them to vote in two places.
31:42Yeah, certainly.
31:43In fact, they are supposed to give their previous address so that in the new places, they can be included.
31:49And, in fact, earlier the onus was on the voter to get it removed.
31:54Otherwise, it was a criminal liability.
31:56In our time, we made it easier that please just tell us a new place where you're going to be
32:03normally resident for more than six months.
32:05Please fill up the form 6 and mention your old address and old card.
32:10We will delete it ourselves so that you don't have to bother.
32:13Is part of the problem, Mr. Lavasa and all of the problems being raised because of the documentation involved, the
32:23very structure of the SIR exercise.
32:27A number of people say, look, we have our Aadhaar card.
32:30We have documents today.
32:32But you can't – we can't tell you where we voted in the last election, which is 2002.
32:37You have to provide proof of that 2002, 2003.
32:40If you cannot, then you have to provide your parents' information.
32:44Is it – is the problem with the structure, which is why many people may not have the documents, even
32:49though they are genuine citizens?
32:51We are seeing that in West Bengal, 91% of those who were excluded went to the tribunals.
32:58That's 9 in every 10, so far have been proven to be legitimate voters.
33:04Rajdeep, I think we need to look at these two things separately because the cases that you're talking about in
33:11West Bengal were the cases of logical discrepancies.
33:15Yes.
33:16Right?
33:17So here what is happening is that out of the 47 lakhs who have been deleted, I think you need
33:25to look at the statistics.
33:26The official statistics and interpret it in a harmonious way.
33:32Are we saying that the population of Delhi is declining?
33:37Because there is a set of data, even if it is a projection, which Election Commission always keeps in mind
33:45while determining the EP ratio.
33:48As we know, census happens once in a decade.
33:51But electoral roll keeps getting revised annually.
33:57And every time an electoral roll is revised, the Election Commission gives out an EP ratio, which is based on
34:05the projected population.
34:06So I would like to understand from the Election Commission of India, what is in their view the population of
34:14Delhi now?
34:16Or indeed of Maharashtra, if it is 7.79 crores today and was 9.47 crores just two years ago,
34:26are we saying Maharashtra's population has declined so considerably?
34:30So according to the projections, I think the population of NCT Delhi should be 2.15 CR or something of
34:38that sort.
34:39And if we are working on an EP ratio of 70%, then what are we talking about?
34:45I mean, that is something we need to look at.
34:47The second issue is what you raised about, not being able to map the electors with their 2002 electoral rolls.
34:57That stage will come now in Delhi.
35:01Because from the draft electoral roll, there will be a mapping which will be done by the staff.
35:08And if they are unable to map, then those people will get notices and they will be asked to produce
35:16documents which will establish their linkage with the reference year electoral roll.
35:22So you might actually see further deletions.
35:25Right.
35:26More deletions.
35:27Can I for a moment just get you to respond to what Dr. Qureshi said earlier, Mr. Lawasa?
35:32Because he said that if the electoral rolls were so flawed in 2024, when the general elections were held, have
35:40a re-election.
35:41Now, you were around at the, I mean, do you believe 2019, for example, are we saying the electoral rolls
35:48were flawed?
35:492024, it was flawed.
35:51Are all the elections that have been held between 2002 and 2026, all flawed elections?
35:58Would you go along with that?
36:00Was there something intrinsically wrong with our electoral rolls when you all were election commissioners?
36:05No, I think what Dr. Qureshi is saying is that, I mean, to the best of my understanding, nobody has
36:13ever questioned the completeness or the accuracy of the electoral rolls in such a way that they needed to be
36:22rewritten.
36:22So, yes, there are always deficiencies or flaws.
36:27Those flaws do exist.
36:29And there is a process of correcting those flaws, but not in a way that you rewrite the entire electoral
36:37roll.
36:37So, I think the elections that were held, 2019 or 2024, or even the 2025 election in Delhi or, for
36:47that matter, other states, is the EC saying that those electoral rolls were flawed?
36:53I don't think they are also saying that, but this exercise in itself is flawed and it is leading to
37:03mass scale anxiety and because people are being subjected to an unfair procedure.
37:14Which brings me to a question to both of you, starting with you, Dr. Qureshi.
37:19Therefore, given the anxiety that exists, will my name be there, will it not be there on such a scale,
37:25what minimum procedural safeguard should even now be taken by the CEC to guarantee before deleting an eligible elector, should
37:34I send a personal notice, give a proper hearing within a reasonable time frame to respond, give a clear reason
37:43for my name being not there?
37:44Because it is turning out to be a very cumbersome process, let's say, for a senior citizen, for example.
37:51Therefore, I ask you, is there a way in which this process can be made a little simplified, in your
37:57view, to restore confidence?
37:59You know, there is already existing law that any deletion, and there are Supreme Court judgments on it, that any
38:06deletion, every single deletion, has to be done by, after giving you the notice and the following due process.
38:15You know, here what is happening, some political activists filed an application that these 200 need to be deleted, and
38:23orders, as we have heard, the orders have gone down, no questions asked, please delete them.
38:29Now, also, we, till our time, our rule was that there will be no bulk applications for deletions.
38:37You can only apply for two, three or four of your neighborhood, not for the whole city.
38:42So, those safeguards were already there, and what has happened to those safeguards, we really don't know, because problem overall
38:51is that we, nobody seems to know the facts, and the figures, and the law, and whatever is happening.
38:59So, it's the lack of transparency that becomes worrying, Mr. Lavasa, but the same question to you, minimum procedural safeguards,
39:07that I feel confident that eligible citizens will get their cards, that it is not the case, as we've seen
39:14in both Bihar and Bengal,
39:16that suddenly, after the polls, citizens who were eligible, find it out much too late, that they were denied their
39:24right to vote.
39:26Rajdeep, there is a procedure. The problem is that it is very cumbersome, and I think it is very unnecessary
39:34to subject people to this kind of procedure.
39:37Now, let me first raise a very fundamental issue, as far as mapping is concerned.
39:45If my name existed in the current electoral roll, not the draft, the valid electoral roll before the draft was
39:53prepared,
39:54if my name exists in that, and if you are not able to map me with the 2002 or 2003
40:02electoral roll,
40:04how does it disqualify me? I don't understand.
40:08If you are 60, 70 years old, 50 years old, why is it necessary for people to be mapped if
40:16I was not an electorate in 2002?
40:19Does it mean that I cannot be an electorate today? That is a question.
40:23And the other question is, I will give you two examples.
40:26One of a retired IAS officer living in Gurgaon, his name, as it exists in the roll, is Krishan Kumar.
40:38In 2002, it is KK and its surname.
40:42Now, he is being asked to produce evidence that you are the same person.
40:47And then there is another case where the wife of a retired officer, who retired maybe 30 years back,
40:58his wife, who is now a widow, she has lived in that house for 35 years.
41:03She is 87 years old.
41:05She has been asked to come and produce documents in front of the BLO because they can't map her with
41:122002.
41:12I mean, what kind of a system is this?
41:15I think both of you are raising very, very valid concerns, concerns of citizens.
41:21I hope, therefore, there's a way.
41:22Mr. Qureshi, 30 seconds, very quickly.
41:25Yeah, you know, I'm talking about the 2002 election.
41:30How are they so sacrosanct, the electoral roll of 2002?
41:33That is final, that was God's word.
41:36And everything is fine.
41:38And with reference to that, if you are all right, you will continue to be.
41:4430 years, we have been improving the rules.
41:47Ashok Lawas has done it.
41:48I have done it, everybody, since 2002.
41:52Why is 2002 so sacrosanct?
41:54What is the guarantee that that was the perfect rule?
41:56That was even more effective?
41:58I get your point.
41:59Both of you have raised very valid points, very valid concerns.
42:03Just one, if you allow me just one, 20 seconds.
42:07You know, the problem is that if you have an irrational system, it leaves a lot of discretion in the
42:15hands of the field functionaries.
42:17Because nobody is clear about the procedure, how transparent it is.
42:23The field functionaries can exercise their discretion in any manner because we are implementing an irrational system.
42:33Can I just leave it there?
42:36I think plenty of food for thought.
42:38I hope that those in the Election Commission at the moment are listening to these.
42:42These are genuine concerns being reflected by two people who have seen the system up close and personal.
42:49I appreciate Mr. Lavasa and Dr. Qureshi, both of you joining me here on the news today.
42:54Thank you so much.
43:00Okay, from there, let's turn to our Get Real India story where a shocking case of alleged sexual abuse has
43:07emerged from a Maharashtra tribal boarding school where 22 minor girls have accused a kitchen helper of molestation.
43:15The accused is now behind bars under Poxo, but he had allegedly faced a Poxo case earlier too.
43:21So why was he allowed back into a school?
43:25Get Real India.
43:34A school should be a sanctuary for children, but for 22 minor girls at a Maharashtra tribal boarding school, it
43:41allegedly became a place of fear and harassment.
43:44The students from class 6th to 10th have accused a kitchen helper of molestation.
43:51And the testimony coming from the students is deeply disturbing.
43:54One survivor alleges the accused repeatedly touched her.
43:58She further alleges that he also touched other girls inappropriately.
44:02The student claims the alleged misconduct continued for around a month.
44:06More disturbing are the allegations that complaints made to school authorities were not acted upon.
44:11And now the survivor is demanding severe and stringent punishment as the Poxo investigation gets underway.
44:20The predator, Ganpat Gavli, is now behind bars on the Poxo.
44:59But the most disturbing part is that Gavli had already faced a Poxo case in 2024.
45:06His suspension was revoked and he was reposted to another tribal school.
45:11Now 22 girls have come forward.
45:13The big question is, why was a sex assault accused allowed back into a school?
45:18And could this horror have been avoided?
45:22With Divesh Singh, Bureau Report, India Today.
45:28Okay, let's turn from there to a Chak Deh moment of sorts for Indian hockey at the FIH World Cup.
45:36Guess what?
45:37For the first time this weekend, the Indian women's team finished higher than the men's team at the World Cup
45:43hockey.
45:44The men came in eighth, the women came in a creditable fifth.
45:49Their best ever showing since the first World Cup they participated in, in 1974.
45:55So it is a bit of a breakthrough moment for the Indian women's hockey team.
46:01Which is why we've got three players from that team who've done the country proud.
46:06Vice Captain Navneet Kaur, she was the highest scorer at the World Cup.
46:11Former captain and goalkeeper, Savita Poonia, who has played more than 300 times for India.
46:17And forward, Lal Rehm Syami, who's been recently conferred with the Arjuna Award.
46:23I will start with you, Lal Rehm Syami, because you are among the youngest players.
46:27Arjuna Award miltah hai, you finished fifth at the World Cup.
46:31Kuch loog kahenge, where is the medal?
46:33We did not get a medal.
46:34Kyo aap hockey players ko laari hai?
46:36Tell us how you are feeling, finishing fifth, defeating Germany.
46:40Kaisa lag raha, Lal Rehm?
46:42How do you feel?
46:45Namaste, sir.
46:48Hanji sir, bhoot acha laga ki hum, as a team, ham ne decide kya tha ki is far hamne, wal
46:54cup may ham medal lhe ker jana hai ki koy bhi medal hai.
46:58Toh woh humahra target tha but hum ne woh jo hum ne, as a team hamne decide kya voh poonch
47:05nari pa hai but hum ne finis kiya hai.
47:07As a team hamna hara performance bhi confidence bhi hua hai ki hume bhoot acha laga humne, 52 years ke
47:15baat, humne finis kiya hai.
47:15achieved. But you are still waiting for the medal because you missed it out in the Tokyo Olympics.
47:22You came fourth. Isbar fifth. Are we confident next time Olympics or World Cup we will get a medal?
47:29Yes, sir. Sure. Isbar also full confidence. When we played with Australia, we didn't play our
47:37base. But as a team, we had a very good performance. So at that time, we had a little bit
47:45of our
47:45base. That's why we didn't get a medal. But as a team, we decided that in Germany, it will
47:52be like we win. We have to go out and finish. So as a team, we decided that we have
48:00achieved
48:01it. So of course, our next time, we have full confidence.
48:06Yes, sir. Well, finishing fifth is creditable given the level of competition. But Savita
48:11Punia, not easy to win a medal at the Olympics. It's a very big competition. You only lost
48:19one match. You beat Germany, which is ranked higher than you. But then there will be a medal
48:27when you get a medal. We fell short, as I said, in the Olympics, finished fourth. Fifth
48:32is very creditable. But now we're not getting a medal. Where are we going?
48:39Absolutely, sir. Definitely. We're missing that medal too. Because we're doing a lot of
48:43hard work for that medal. And as a team, individuals and individuals can improve us. And because
48:49of course, we're not getting a medal in the Olympics, we're not getting a medal in the
48:56world. And today, we can tell you that our new coaching staff and shoot, as well as our
49:01coaching staff, if the team has progressed in six months, we're going to be in the top five
49:07of the World Cup. So definitely, it's not a long day. It's a little bit of time. But
49:14next World Cup or LA, I think our team definitely will be ready for the medal. You have played
49:21316 times for 316 times. You are the marathon woman of Indian hockey. You are the marathon
49:27woman of Indian hockey, you are the marathon woman. You are on and off. You are the marathon
49:28from all over the years. I'm feeling you will never get a medal. Definitely.
49:53You know, Navneet Kaur, you are the standout player for India in the last 12 months.
49:59Best player of the Hockey India League, best player at FIH World Cup Qualifiers.
50:04Do you think finishing ahead of the men's team, which is 5th in Germany, can it be a turning point?
50:12By the 2028 Olympics, we will take the medal in the women's hockey?
50:18Yes sir, our team has improved a lot in the past 7-8 months.
50:23We have done a good performance in the tournament.
50:26And in World Cup, our team has also played a good team.
50:28Of course, we thought that we will take the medal.
50:33But our performance, we have played with many teams.
50:38We have played with higher ranked teams.
50:40We have played with them.
50:41Last match, Germany beat us.
50:44Of course, we think that we believe in the team,
50:49that we can beat any team.
50:58And you can watch that full interview with our hockey players on India Today's digital platform.
51:06Okay, let me turn and end the show tonight with a very special story.
51:10A mother's determination to secure a better future for her daughters has now gone viral.
51:1647-year-old Ramabai Ranveer from Maharashtra's B District ran a marathon barefoot in a saadi,
51:24competing against much younger runners.
51:27She finished first one rupees to three thousand,
51:31which she now plans to use for her daughter's education.
51:35This is a story that gives you hope that will inspire many people.
51:40I want to leave you, therefore, with tonight's inspirational story.
51:43Remember, this was the news without the noise.
51:47Thanks for watching.
51:48Stay well, stay safe.
51:49Good night, Shubratri.
51:50Jai Hind, Namaskar.
51:52Take a look at the Marathon Woman.
52:02This video of Ramabai Ranveer is viral.
52:06The 47-year-old ran a marathon in Beed to fund her daughter's education.
52:10Ramabai, who ran the race barefooted in a saadi, left youngsters behind to come first.
52:17She won a cash prize of three thousand rupees.
52:19She was a sick mother, a brick, a knife, a stone and a stone, a stone and a stone and
52:27a stone.
52:27She was gone to a hospital, a stone.
52:34But she died, she was eaten.
52:38She died, and she was a sick mother.
52:42The animal was dead.
52:43The elephant was discovered in the basement.
52:56Ramabai has enrolled her elder daughter in a coaching academy in Ambajogai.
53:01She works as a cook in the same academy.
53:16One of Ramabai's daughters is preparing for banking exams.
53:20The other daughter, Pooja, is training for police recruitment.
53:23Her tireless efforts to educate her daughter has won her praise on the social media.
53:29With Rohida's Lahudas Hatagley, Bureau Report, India Today.