Today in Politics: Supreme Court to hear batch of petitions challenging Bihar SIR

The Association For Democratic Reforms, which has challenged the June 24 order of the EC directing the SIR in Bihar, had last week filed a fresh application seeking direction to the poll panel to publish the names of around 65 lakh deleted voters with the mention whether they are dead, permanently migrated or not considered for any other reason.

In its reply to the Association for Democratic Reforms’ application, the EC said the draft roll had been published on the basis of the enumeration forms received and that “no inquiry” had been done at this stage.

In its reply filed late Saturday night, the commission cited the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which say that a copy of the draft roll is to be made available for inspection outside the Electoral Registration Officer’s office and the ERO is required to make each part of the draft accessible to the public in the respective areas, and give two copies to each recognised party.

“That it is an admitted position that the Respondent has complied with the aforestated obligations. It is submitted that the statutory framework does not require the Respondent to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone in the draft electoral rolls for any reason,” the EC said.

Andhra local body polls

With local body polls to be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulivendula and Vontimitta on Tuesday, the Opposition YSRCP has accused Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu “conspiring” against the party.

Former minister V Srinivas alleged that Naidu was “misusing police and TDP supporters to influence the outcome”. “Naidu is orchestrating conspiracies to thwart YSRCP’s win in the Pulivendula and Vontimitta local body polls. Such tactics will ultimately fail,” Srinivas claimed.

Srinivas claimed that peaceful elections would make a TDP victory impossible, accusing Naidu of turning the development-focused Pulivendula into a “political battleground driven by vendetta.” He further alleged that the NDA coalition government had plunged Andhra Pradesh into chaos within a year, “resorting to looting, atrocities, false SC/ST cases, and relocating polling booths to restrict voting rights.”

On Tuesday, Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency elections will be held in Pulivendula and Vontimitta in the YSR Kadapa district. The region is considered a stronghold of the YSRCP – former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy is the sitting three-time MLA from Pulivendula.

BJD protests in Odisha

After holding a series of protests in Odisha over women’s safety, the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is intensifying its agitation on Tuesday with a padyatra.

While a 20-year-old FM College woman student died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar of self-immolation on the night of July 14 protesting denial of justice over a sexual harassment case, the minor girl of Balanga area in Puri district died on August 2 at AIIMS, Delhi after being allegedly set ablaze by three miscreants on July 19. The Opposition parties have been agitating over the two incidents for some time.

On Tuesday, the party’s padayatra will begin from the spot where the girl was set afire at Balanga to Nimapara.

– With PTI inputs