- 2 hours ago
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a dharna at Akashwani Bhavan in New Delhi, demanding an immediate meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll manipulation.
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00:04Hello and welcome. Good evening. You're watching Super 6 here on India Today. I'm Akshita Nanda
00:08Koppal. Over the next one hour, we'll get you all of the top stories of the day. And
00:12of course, our focus is on the showdown playing out in the national capital that's also spreading
00:17to several states. I'm referring to the SIR battle and the Congress upping the ante, demanding
00:23the ouster of the CEC. On Super 6 this evening, yes, we'll focus on what's really played out
00:29in the national capital and get you some of those images because the dharna, by the way,
00:32still continues. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, the top Congress leadership continues to sit
00:37in dharna, demanding a meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar. So we'll get you a live update on that.
00:42While this is playing out in Tamil Nadu, former ally DMK is questioning if the Congress will
00:48question the election results in Tamil Nadu as well. So interesting war of words is playing
00:54out between the former allies, which we'll tell you about. But also coming up on the show,
00:58the two states in the South ruled by the Congress, I'm talking about Karnataka and Telangana.
01:05The SIR process is underway in both these states. I guess what, there's a big showdown over this,
01:10over Form 7. Both governments have questioned the Form 7 application, suggested that there's
01:16mass deletion of voters from the list. We'll give you a sense of what that political fight
01:21is all about in these two states. This much more coming your way. Let's begin with the headlines.
01:32Pandemonium amid protest in Delhi. Gandhi's on dharna at Akashwani Bhavan for over seven
01:37hours now, demanding meet with CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Poor body claims no request for meet received
01:43yet from Congress.
01:50BJP goes all guns blazing against Congress. Slams Rahul Gandhi for misleading the country
01:56with baseless vote-chory claims. Union Minister Rijiju advises Congress to start serving people
02:02to win rather than blaming poor body.
02:10Man who claimed to be journalist arrested by Delhi police over fake AI-generated poster depicting
02:15a police officer sexually assaulting a woman. Cops also released new video claiming protesters
02:20misbehaved with them, not the other way around.
02:29Tamil Nadu's Dharapuram and Madhuran Thakam witnesses high voter turnout. Dharapuram sees over 78.53%
02:37voter turnout. It's 83.86% in Madhuran Thakam as of 5pm, 6.30pm. We'll get you all those updates.
02:50Voters turnout in big numbers in Bengals, Nandigram and Reginagar as well. 79.39% voter turnout
02:57reported in Nandigram, 78.42% in Reginagar constituency as of 5pm.
03:17Let's begin with breaking news that's coming in. We've been tracking the latest coming in on the
03:22Dharna that's been continuing for over seven hours now by the Congress leadership, by the Gandhis,
03:27Rahul and Priyanka, who are seated right now at the Akashwani Bhavan. And now you've got the
03:32election commission countering Rahul Gandhi. What is Rahul Gandhi's demand? Why is he on a Dharna?
03:37He's saying that he will not move away till he gets a meeting with the CEC. However, sources within the
03:42election commission have said that there's been no request that's come in right now from the
03:47Congress party to meet with election commission officials. The EC has told India today that the
03:54request will be considered of a meeting if Congress sends across a formal request. The election
04:00commission has highlighted that there is a process in place to get a meeting. Parties need to follow
04:05that process. And so if they go ahead and do that, there could possibly be a meeting that happens.
04:11Now, what in fact election commission has also told us here on India today is that all of the top
04:17officials, the entire commission is very much present in the EC building. And so they are open
04:21to that meeting, putting the orders rather on the Congress on Rahul Gandhi saying process is not being
04:26followed. An application needs to be put in place for a meeting to actually happen. Rahul Gandhi,
04:33on the other hand, is saying he will not budge till he meets with the CEC and is questioning why
04:39that's not happened. Listen to Rahul Gandhi.
04:41He said, there are no other people in the courts. We have Donald Trump. We have had a
04:52envie of the members of the US, they are not saying they have won the murder, we have no letter.
05:01We are
05:02right here. The government is saying this, almost like something we have been in our office. They are
05:09under the same cause. We have no other public services in the office. That's what we have done. It's
05:10been under the whole of our Leuk couple. Sometimes it's amazing. It's been under the
05:11We don't have a problem here.
05:13Our children are running here.
05:15We have a lot of people here.
05:18We have a toilet here.
05:19We have tea.
05:20We have tea.
05:21We don't have a problem.
05:22So Rahul Gandhi hinting there
05:27that this is going to be an overnight protest
05:29saying we have mattresses, we have washrooms,
05:31we're getting food, we're not going anywhere.
05:34So the stage looks for
05:35set for an overnight dharna
05:37that could be happening
05:39in the heart of the National Capital.
05:40Amit Bharatwaj, who's tracking that protest closely
05:43is joining us on this broadcast.
05:44Amit, you've now got communication
05:46that's coming from the Election Commission suggesting
05:48that there's been no formal request
05:50for a meeting with the CEC.
05:52What has the Congress got to say about that?
05:59Well, the Congress party in the India bloc is saying
06:02that we are here to protest against
06:04CEC Gyanesh Kumar
06:05and we want him to be removed from the post.
06:08And that is why this entire dharna,
06:11the march was carried out today.
06:12But what is interesting is that
06:14I would term it the chapter 3
06:17of this particular dharna
06:18because chapter 1 was India block marching.
06:20Chapter 2 was when Rahul Gandhi went inside
06:23the Akashwani Bhavan
06:24and chapter 3 has just begun
06:26because when he came in the morning
06:28it was just this tree
06:30near which he was sitting
06:32and Priyanka Gandhi Wadra was there.
06:33But now, you know,
06:36they have also managed to get mattresses out here.
06:39Whatever is required for the evening sit-in
06:41that has been arranged by the Congress party.
06:44And his workers have been very strategically
06:46been able to manage.
06:48And right there you can see Priyanka Gandhi Wadra
06:49who's sitting right next to KC Venugopal.
06:53And I can see Raja Waling as well
06:56there, you know, protesting.
06:58And his other MPs are also now sitting on mattresses.
07:02So Rahul Gandhi, as you heard him say
07:04in that particular sound bite as well,
07:07that I can sit here as long as it is required.
07:11We have no problem here
07:13because this is a government building.
07:15Akashwani Bhavan, it has watch rooms,
07:16other, you know, important immunities
07:19that are required for anybody to stay in for long
07:22as well as now mattresses are there.
07:25So the Congress leader
07:27and the leader of opposition, Lok Sabha,
07:29seems to be very comfortable.
07:30Now depends how comfortable his colleagues are
07:33to be out here.
07:35But it's not about whether they want to meet
07:37election commissioner of India or not.
07:40It's rather about, you know,
07:43the opposition or rather the India bloc
07:44seeking his removal from the post of CEC.
07:47So this march was not where they are carrying a memorandum.
07:51We did ask this question from a couple of Congress leaders as well.
07:56So suppose if the election commission of India says...
07:58No, so Amit, are we going to see an overnight protest?
08:01We are sitting here...
08:01You know, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi
08:03are going to stay put through the night now?
08:08We have reasons to believe so
08:11because the Congress party, its leader Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Vatra
08:14and the other leaders of the Congress are looking very confident
08:19and there seems to be a resolution as well to sit in out here
08:23until they are given a space to, you know, carry a dharna
08:28or they are allowed to master the election commission of India.
08:31I can also see if at all, Lokendr will be able to show you that bus
08:36which is standing inside this Akaswani Bhawan since morning.
08:41This particular bus is standing there possibly on standby
08:44if required to detain the leaders.
08:47That instruction obviously has not been received by the senior leaders
08:51of the senior police officials and I can see, you know,
08:55people from Rahul Gandhi's office as well
08:58possibly coordinating for something later in the evening.
09:01They are holding conversation with the senior official of Delhi police
09:04that is somebody from Rahul Gandhi's team
09:06who has just spoken to the senior Delhi police officials
09:10that conversation is still going on
09:11possibly attempt to negotiate that you do not carry on the dharna
09:15but Rahul Gandhi has made his mind clear. Back to you.
09:18All right. Thanks, Amit, for those details. On your screens,
09:20the middle image that you see there, that's life.
09:24You see Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Veena Gopal,
09:27several other leaders all seated together on mattresses now
09:30that has been set up under a banyan tree in the Akashwani Bhawan
09:33which is a stone's throw away from the election commission office.
09:36And it looks like the Gandhis, the Congress leadership
09:39is hell-bent on meeting with the CEC.
09:41They're saying we're going to stay put until that happens.
09:44Let me get you more breaking news coming in.
09:53Now, remember that the India Bloc, it started off as an India Bloc protester
09:57earlier today in which an invite was extended to the DMK
10:00as well as to the ARP.
10:02Now, DMK didn't take part in the protest as expected
10:05courtesy the divorce with the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
10:09They're no longer a part of the India Bloc.
10:11And DMK hasn't held back on lashing out at Rahul Gandhi
10:14at the Congress questioning what is Rahul Gandhi's stand
10:18on the deletions of votes after the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu.
10:22The DMK essentially accusing the Congress of selective outrage,
10:28asking why isn't Rahul Gandhi speaking out on Tamil Nadu.
10:32Remember, the DMK has been suggesting that a similar vote churi happened in Kolator,
10:38where M.K. Stalin lost because after SIR over 1 lakh votes were deleted.
10:41And the DMK is saying why is there no outrage from the Congress on this.
10:46So much so that they're even saying once a skunk, always a skunk.
10:50Let me bring in Pramod Madhav who's joining us with more details on this.
10:54Pramod, it's interesting to see how the DMK has the same stand as the Congress on the issue of SIR
10:59and yet is taking a jibe and attack that we've heard very often from the BJP
11:05of selective outrage against the Congress.
11:10Well, Ashita, one thing I find very interesting is that this actual jibe was actually first thrown by
11:15Tamil Nadu BJP which apparently has been picked up by DMK currently
11:18and that too is about the SIR.
11:20Just like you mentioned, when it comes to delimitation and SIR until May 6th of 2026,
11:26DMK was hands in hand with Congress.
11:28But right now, as things have changed now, completely everything has turned sore
11:31and that's what you see over here as well.
11:33But very clearly this is not the jibe that was thrown first by DMK against Congress,
11:37but by the BJP and now you have actually BJP question.
11:41So if Karge wants to actually blame SIR, does it mean that the TVK government here, will he also speak
11:46against it?
11:46And now, DMK apparently has taken this particular stance
11:50and now they are actually attacking Congress with this same stance, Ashita.
11:54Alright, thanks very much, Pramodh, for joining us with those details.
11:57Quickly cutting across to more breaking news.
12:05Okay, so as we're seeing the showdown playing out over the issue of SIR in Tamil Nadu,
12:11in the national capital, protest is playing out.
12:13There are two southern states, in Karnataka and Telangana,
12:16where there's an all-out showdown on the issue of the SIR exercise, particularly Form 7,
12:23with the Congress government in both these states alleging that there's mass deletion of voters.
12:29I want to bring in on this broadcast, Mr. A.S. Pundana,
12:33who's joining us to give us a sense of really what the allegation is that the Karnataka government,
12:38that the Congress is putting forth here in Karnataka.
12:41Mr. Pundana, namaskara, thank you for your time.
12:45Sir, you've made the allegation of mass deletions in Karnataka,
12:49and yet this very allegation has constantly been dismissed,
12:53has constantly been clarified upon by the election commission.
12:57What is the evidence, therefore, sir, that the Congress is putting forth of this?
13:03No, there is the Form 7 in mass scale. For example, in Vijjapur alone, Vijjapur City,
13:1313,000 votes have been sought to be deleted. And we have copies of these printed forms.
13:20The forms are printed with all details of the names that have to be deleted, filled up in hundreds by
13:30single individuals,
13:31and submitted to the election commission. The BLO has not signed it.
13:37It is the political party's workers who have signed it. The electoral officer, who is the deputy commissioner of Vijjapur,
13:46he has raised this concern.
13:48Fires have been lodged against this conspiracy to delete voters. And this has happened in other places also.
13:57And this is brought to the notice of the election commission. They have given an endorsement to us that they
14:03are investigating this matter and they will take action.
14:07So, what more evidence is required?
14:10So, it is something that is under investigation, essentially, by the election commission. As far as Form 7 also goes…
14:16Look, let us understand this. Election commission, every time Rahul Gandhi has raised this issue,
14:23has brushed it under the carpet on one guy or the other, asking him to find an affidavit, asking him
14:30to substantiate things.
14:31They have never accepted any kind of inquiry into the allegations. This is the first time, because they are completely
14:41under the bus right now,
14:43that they have agreed to investigate into this matter. I understand how these mass-scale applications were received by the
14:48election commission,
14:49which is against their own rules, and proceeded further. 13,000 in one place is a substantial number, is a
14:59cause of worry,
15:00and it is targeting particular sections of society. This is Morrison to the Indian democracy.
15:07Since you have mentioned Form 7, sir, there is a process that is followed by the election commission.
15:11Sure, there can be multiple challenges that are put forth citing Form 7, but there is a process in which
15:17each of these are scrutinized.
15:19So, are we jumping the gun in alleging conspiracy here?
15:23No, not at all. We are not talking about the scrutiny part of it. We are talking about the attempt
15:30that has been made by filing large-scale Form 7s.
15:35How does it work that way? And how does the election commission receive applications numbering 13,000 and just giving
15:43you one instance, filed by a few of them?
15:48You see, let us understand conceptually how Form 7 works.
15:52If somebody who is your neighbor, who is known to you, who is in your locality, has been added, and
15:59you believe that he does not belong and is not a normal, common resident of that area,
16:03or is dead, or is moved somewhere else, then you bring it to the notice of the election commission.
16:09This whole mechanism, which is meant to work in this particular manner, has now been, you know, used for mask
16:18and lennoxious.
16:20No, sir, a couple of…
16:21Now, if we had not raised it in time, we don't know the consequences.
16:26But the fact remains that this is filed by a particular political party, an attempt to is made to delete
16:32these names.
16:33This is worrying, and this is the concern that we have raised.
16:36No, sir. So, first of all, there are no auto-deletions. There is a process to look into it.
16:41Secondly, also, these mask applications that you are referring to, the poll body has said we won't accept mask applications
16:47of deletions.
16:49They have accepted it. It is exactly what we have brought to the notice. They are now saying that we
16:52will not accept it.
16:53But they did accept it. And God knows where else they have done this.
16:59They have also…
17:00So, we are bringing it to the notice of the election commission. Look, this is not done.
17:04And what has now sitting judge in the Supreme Court said at the convocation?
17:10What has he said about SIR? SIR is a process unknown to law.
17:16It is a direct affront to the constitutional democracy that we have always believed in.
17:22That is his statement in public. And Justice Rowington Nariman, one of the greatest jurists this country has produced, has
17:29echoed these sentiments.
17:31Let's not make it a political war here. This is more about what is required to protect the sanctity of
17:38elections, to protect the interests of the voters.
17:40Mr. Pandana, you are saying don't make it political and yet your allegation is that this is a conspiracy by
17:44the BJP.
17:45No, no. I am requesting you. The BJP is a political party. They know nothing but politics.
17:50Because the BJP is saying that you are targeting them. I am requesting the media.
17:54You are targeting them and they are saying there is no proof. The FIR is being filed by police, controlled
18:00by the DKS government.
18:01We are targeting them. The entire machinery is gunning for us.
18:07Every known source of centralized machinery that is available in their control is gunning for congressmen, gunning for the opposition.
18:17We are the ones who are being targeted.
18:19That's why you are in power in Karnataka. You are not in the opposition though.
18:23Sir, they are saying that you are using those powers in Karnataka.
18:25You know what is happening to the leaders in Karnataka. One agency or the other is on them, on their
18:31back.
18:33You know what happened to our PWD minister recently.
18:37No, these are all facts which is glaring. And the cold truth.
18:43We have got to face this. All that we are saying is that let's set things right.
18:48Why did you in your Form 6, the inclusion of the new voters,
18:52you say it has been modified in terms of the Supreme Court's judgment.
18:56The Supreme Court has now said that. We have never said anything.
19:00So is this how an election commission which is supposed to be an independent constitutional body work?
19:05And the moment we raise questions on election commission, the spokesperson is the BJP.
19:11Why is it so?
19:13Fair question.
19:14Why should the BJP...
19:15Fair question. But Mr. Pondana, ultimately what is the demand here?
19:19Is it to scrap SIR completely in Karnataka?
19:24Look, I have always maintained that official intensive revision is a mechanism that is not provided for in the rules.
19:35The rules provides for intensive revision and a summary revision, which is where you revise the voters list.
19:42In the guise of a revision, they are doing a de-nova redo of the entire list.
19:50It's like I have to go and establish that I am alive.
19:54Why would you put the citizens to such a draconian mechanism to establish themselves to be part of the voters
20:03list, which is adult franchise?
20:05Universal adult franchise. If you are 18, you are entitled to vote.
20:10Now, you have to go and prove all kinds of things that they are asking in a very detailed form.
20:16This is unnecessary and it is basically a mechanism that they are using to take control of the elections.
20:26All right. All right. Mr. Pondana, thank you for joining us here on India Today.
20:30I'm putting forth essentially what the Karnataka Congress government's version is, what the allegation is against the election commission and
20:37against the ongoing SIR exercise in Karnataka.
20:40It's all over Form 7. Now, if I were to explain Form 7 to you, it is essentially an application
20:46that challenges another voter's application or voter's name, suggesting that the address is fake or suggesting that they have passed
20:55away and that the voter doesn't exist.
20:57That's something that is then cross-verified, checked by the election commission.
21:00Now, the Congress says this Form 7 is being used in several constituencies to mass delete votes.
21:07And they claim that this is largely minority votes that are being deleted because that is the Congress's vote back.
21:14Let me run you through all the reactions on this political fight in Karnataka.
21:21The battle over the electoral rolls in Karnataka is intensifying.
21:31At the heart of the controversy is Form 7 application used to seek deletion of names from the voters list.
21:38FIRs have been registered in Karnataka amid allegations that Form 7 applications were filed against genuine voters with complaints claiming
21:46voters were falsely shown as having shifted permanently or being absent from their addresses.
21:54Congress says this is no clerical error but a deliberate attempt to target the voters.
21:59Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar accused the BJP of a conspiracy, alleging that the party printed the Form 7 applications
22:07and then blamed Congress when complaints were filed.
22:12But the BJP has hit back.
22:14After meeting the governor, leader of opposition R. Ashok alleged that the Congress government was using the police to target
22:20BJP and JDS workers who filed Form 7 applications.
22:25He demanded action against police officers registering the cases, arguing that electoral roll complaints should be decided by the election
22:32commission.
22:56Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar mocked the BJP's governor outreach saying that they are now scared.
23:01Why our state leaders have gone to the Rajmohan? Because they are afraid. They did a conspiracy. They printed the
23:12Form 7. Then our workers have finally completed the police station. Let them declare themselves that yes, we are given.
23:21As the FIRs mount, so does the political heat. But the big question remains, who is behind the questionable Form
23:297 applications?
23:31With Sager Raj in Bengaluru, Bureau Report, India Today.
23:36It's exactly the same controversy playing out in neighboring Telangana.
23:41Once again, the Congress, the AIMIM suggesting that there's been mass deletion of votes in several constituencies.
23:48Pre-printed forms of Form 7 essentially were submitted in these constituencies where they allege again that minorities have been
23:56targeted.
23:56What did we find on the ground? For example, in a seat like Mushridabad, there was 30 members of a
24:03family whose names have been mentioned in these Form 7s asking for their names to be removed from the voter
24:09roll, suggesting that they've moved and they've shifted out of their home.
24:13Let's give you a sense of what's happened in Telangana as well on this.
24:40The SIR showdown is expanding across the country.
24:47It is not Karnataka. Telangana is also witnessing a Form 7 round.
24:53The Congress has alleged an attempt to delete the names of one of its party workers and around 30 members
24:59of his family.
25:00India Today spoke to family members who recounted their ordeal.
25:06What is Form 7? A Form 7 which is a form that will be submitted by any citizen here in
25:11Telangana seeking deletion of a voter if in case the particular voter whom they sought deletion for has died.
25:20With a family in Mushirabad who claims that 30 members of their family who have been residing since their birth
25:26and claim to be eligible voters have received Form 7 through the election commission submitted by a known person.
25:38The other family members who have received the name of form 7 was submitted by the other family members.
25:43What is the reason?
25:45What is the reason?
26:12The Congress and AIMIM alleged that people linked to BJP submitted Form 7 applications
26:19against genuine voters in bulk, particularly in Gosha Mahal and Mushirabad.
26:23They alleged that this was an attempt to remove genuine voters, particularly Muslims, from
26:28the electoral rules during the SIR process.
26:31Two parties say that in Gosha Mahal, the submitted forms were not even signed by the applicants,
26:37making them ineligible for consideration.
26:41These are all 31 forms, which are all printed forms in the name of one family.
26:47We have told the CEO to this form.
26:52We have asked that we should immediately have a criminal cases book on all of these forms.
26:57This form where did it come from? Where did it come from? Where did it come from?
27:08We have to tell you.
27:09BJP and Seng Paribasic people
27:11Farm 7 does not want to delete names.
27:17I want to tell you that election commission of India.
27:42The Congress has sought a detailed inquiry into the matter and legal action, if any wrongdoing
27:48is established.
27:49Meanwhile, Telangana election officials said on Monday that the Form 7 applications submitted
27:55in bulk in Gosha Mahal and Mushirabad were rejected.
27:59But the BJP has rejected the allegations, saying no booth-level agents belonging to the BJP submitted
28:05any such Form 7 applications.
28:08They are not in favor of special intensive region, which has been happening in the country as
28:14well as in Telangana on that.
28:16By one way or other, they are accusing the Bharatiya Hanta Party, Modi's government and
28:21just election commission of India.
28:23On one way or other, they wanted to stop this submission of Form 7 and the system of SIR
28:32should be stopped.
28:33This is their main agenda.
28:35Calls to scrap SIR have also come from actor Prakash Raj.
28:39Our demand is SIR has to be stalled and scrapped.
28:45There should be a committee which will form and repeal the Judicial Immunity Election Commission.
28:53The process 2023 creates where the Election Commission's CGP was removed, Chief Justice was removed.
29:02Bring back the, remove the ESI net.
29:04With political heat intensifying and these 30 members of one family is not just one case
29:10but several other cases are being reported in several parts of Hyderabad, the question
29:14here remains who is submitting these forms expecting eligible voters to be deleted from
29:20the electoral rolls?
29:21and what is their intention and what would be the action that will be taken from the Election
29:25Commission against these people who are submitting these forms of Form 7 in the state of Telangana?
29:31With Camera Person Venkatesh, Abdul Bashir, Hyderabad.
29:36So there are questions being asked of the ongoing SIR exercise in Telangana.
29:40Our ground reports have also led to voters speaking out saying that their names have been put out in these
29:46applications, in these Form 7 applications.
29:48Joining me on this broadcast is Srinivas Reddy spokesperson of the Congress and N.V. Subhash Rao spokesperson
29:53of the BJP.
29:55Good evening.
29:56Thank you both for your time.
29:58Mr. N.V.
29:59Subhash, I'd like to begin with you.
30:01So all these allegations, particularly from minority groups in Hyderabad, suggesting that
30:07these mass Form 7s that have been submitted to them have been done by the BJP.
30:13It is not an allegation.
30:15It is a fact, you know, we are in the factual position, where in our BLA 1 and BLA 2
30:22have
30:23been identified these, you know, illegal immigrants.
30:27And the benefit of doubt is, in a small house of 200 square feet, how can 330 people can live
30:34on that?
30:34The second thing is, the age difference.
30:37You know, the difference between the father's age and, you know, the daughter's age is so
30:42much, there is no way that, you know, they can have the children at that age.
30:45So all these things are very, very clear, that the Congress party, along with the MIM
30:50party, are in hand in glove.
30:52They wanted to give, you know, the shelter to Rohingyas in this city, especially in, you
30:57know, the Bushirabad, in certain sections of the polling booths, and in Ghoshamal, and
31:01many parts of the, you know, just old city.
31:03So our BLA's and, you know, the 1 and 2 are very, very, you know, focusing on that.
31:10And our aim is, you know, SAR aim is to delete, you know, detect, delete, and then, you know,
31:17depot.
31:17No, but sir, is this targeted?
31:20I'll give you an example.
31:21In the case of Mushirabad, for example, of those 30 names submitted by the BJP BLA,
31:27which you've confirmed has been done by the BJP BLA, there are, almost all of them are
31:35of Muslim electors.
31:38There's only one who is a Hindu elector.
31:41In which case is this targeted, sir?
31:44This is, you know, this is the factual situation in that.
31:47We are, you know, the BLS and, you know, the 1 and 2, we are ready to face the criminal
31:51proceedings
31:52also, if it is found, you know, the truth, that we have made a mischief role in that.
31:59Okay.
31:59Whether, you know, the Congress party or the MIM party will give, you know, votes for
32:03them, that this is, you know, surreal or only, you know, the duplicate.
32:07And we appeal to all the Congress party units and, you know, the MIM parties to find out,
32:12because there is a security threat in that.
32:14If you are giving, you know, shelter for this kind of people who doesn't have any, you know,
32:19the voting rights, if they are not citizens on that, what is the care that you're supposed
32:22to do on that?
32:23So, let me bring in the Congress there.
32:25Sridiwas Reddy is with us on this broadcast.
32:27Mr. Sridiwas Reddy, the BJP is saying, yes, we filed those applications.
32:30And that's because these are bogus votes, according to them.
32:33Yeah, I would like to thank Mr. Subhash for admitting the fact that BJP is doing all these.
32:39First of all, these are the Form 7 applications which were given by the BLO.
32:46They are all pre-filled Form 7s, printed Form 7s which were given.
32:50This is not only in Mushirabad, it is there in other constituencies like Badur Kura and Gosha Mahal also.
32:57And the CEO himself has acknowledged that these bulk Form 7s which have been given
33:04are definitely going to be investigated because Congress party would like to understand one thing.
33:12How did these electoral roll data and who selected these households as well as who generated these pre-filled forms?
33:21Because these forms are submitted to the election commission for deletion of orders.
33:27And we would like to understand who has submitted these pre-filled forms, who printed them as well as…
33:32So, you are asking multiple questions, sir.
33:34This question of pre-printed forms.
33:36Mr. Subhash, would you like to answer to that?
33:38See, is it not your responsibility, you know, the Congress BLA 1 and BLA 2 responsibility to
33:44conduct candidates to tell me that, you know, you are hand in glove with that.
33:49What we are saying is that, you know, SAR is not for the deletion, it is for the addition on
33:53that.
33:53So, unless proved, unless proved, you know, we have full, full sources on that.
33:58When you say that we are only going to do only for, you know, certain sections of the society on
34:03that,
34:03then what, you know, who stopped on that?
34:05That means you are, you know, entering on that.
34:07Because you did not do, we are doing it.
34:10What is wrong in that?
34:11No, but sir, what is the answer, what is the answer to the question on the pre-printed forms?
34:16The pre-printed Form 7s that have been submitted?
34:20Mr. Subhash, because you did not give on that, we don't…
34:22I don't have personal information about the pre-printed forms because I did not see on that.
34:27If the election commission has really, you know, rejected, then, you know, the case has to be verified on that.
34:35How can some people live in the same, same community, same, you know, house number, 30 people, 40 people,
34:41is it really possible on that?
34:42You have to answer my question on that.
34:44Okay, Mr. Srinivas, ready your response to that.
34:46That in one house, if there are 30, 40 people, the BJP is doing their bid, they are saying they
34:50are clearing up these border rolls.
34:51And ultimately, the election commission will scrutinize.
34:54Yes, yes. In Hyderabad, there are a number of houses where we have such sort of families staying there.
35:01And this family, which…
35:03Go on and stop it.
35:04…which sought to be deleted, 31 names of one single family and one of them is a Congress booth-level
35:12activist.
35:13And if they want the complete 31 members of that family to be deleted, does that mean that people can't
35:19stay in one house?
35:21If they can't afford to stay in a bigger house, definitely they will stay there.
35:24Mr. Srinivas, ready, you admit on that. You have increased for the greatest votes on that.
35:29If you are really capable of doing that…
35:31We are not opposing the SIR, sir. We are only opposing the wrongful exclusion of people.
35:41By using Form 7, we are not accepting that.
35:45Listen, listen. Whenever the Congress party wins in a certain state, you say that SIR is very good.
35:50Constitution is very good. Election commission is very good. DEM is good.
35:53When you lose, when you are about to lose, you are making a false narrative so that people can understand.
36:00Because of SIR or with the election commission or with the party and the party, we have lost on that.
36:05We are not against the deletions. We are not against the deletions.
36:09It is not me who is saying that…
36:11It is now the Supreme Court judges who are saying that…
36:14No, but Mr. Srinivas is ready. Then is the BJP well within their right?
36:17Sir, are they well within their right to submit these Form 7 applications?
36:21And then ultimately, the election commission will decide. They have their own scrutiny. They have their own process.
36:26The BJP is saying, we believe these are bogus votes and so we are doing a bit by highlighting it.
36:31Now, what they are saying is, yes, 30 members of a family living in one home, they are also saying
36:35the age gap doesn't match.
36:39There are many households like that, that the age gap doesn't match. If that is of that sort, let them
36:44investigate into that.
36:46Why are they not investigating…
36:47Which is what the election commission will do.
36:49So, we are not asking for any ineligible voter to be there. But we are only saying that every eligible
36:54voter has the right to be allowed to vote.
36:57We cannot… We cannot… Just because somebody's wims and fancies, every voter cannot be deleted.
37:03Just because they don't vote for a particular party, they cannot bring up such issues and say that they are
37:08not eligible to vote. How can they say that?
37:12It is, it is very clear…
37:14If there are eligible voters, let the election commission decide and…
37:20How come in Himatnagar or in Kertabad this has not been detected? Why in Ushirabad and why in Gosha Mal?
37:26Because…
37:26Why not even in Badur Pura, bulk forms have been given, they have been found on the roadside also.
37:32If you are talking about, you know, if you are talking about certain sections of the society where, you know,
37:36Bhakti Antha party is targeting…
37:38If you are talking about Himatnagar and other areas, probably the voter share of your party is more, you do
37:45not want to do that there.
37:46That is what, that is what, you know, you are very…
37:50And by saying that the Communist Party is losing to say that, that is not all it says.
37:55See, see, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, you know, one of the municipal numbers, 3-5-11-8-3
38:03-8, there are 123 votes, 123 votes in one house in that.
38:08And you know, one of the municipal numbers, 109. Another municipal number is 99. How can 99 people live in
38:15one small community?
38:16You know, it is not a community, it is a double bedroom house. Is it possible? Please understand that. Please
38:23understand that. I have the whole list of that.
38:25No, so clearly the BJP is sticking by the fact that they have challenged these voters and they are saying
38:30that there is reason for it.
38:32We have done our research, we have looked into these seats, we have looked into the areas, these pockets and
38:36highlighted it.
38:37In such a case, Mr. Shriva is ready, you are alleging conspiracy, but the BJP is saying we are just
38:42doing our duty. The election commission ultimately will look into it.
38:45We are, even the Congress party is not against removing ineligible voters. Let me make it very clear over here.
38:52We are not asking for any ineligible voters to be there.
38:56So then are you jumping the gun by crime conspiracy, sir?
38:58We are saying that every eligible voter has a right to vote and his constitutional right has to be guaranteed.
39:04It cannot be at the whims and fancies of any political party or any other person that any voter loses
39:10his franchise to vote.
39:12There is no vims and fancies. It is a fact. It is very clear.
39:16It is a fact what I am talking about. It is a fact that it is a nation-wide right
39:20now.
39:22Ultimately, like I said, the election commission will now look into these Form 7s. That is the process.
39:27None of these applications that are submitted are immediately accepted and votes deleted. Not the case.
39:32There is a scrutiny process. I will see what emerges from that scrutiny as well.
39:36But thank you, Mr. Sridhivas Reddy and Mr. Subhash for joining us here on India Today on this broadcast.
39:41I want to cut across now to breaking news coming in.
39:49And this is the latest that's coming in. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit is all set to be the next Chief
39:55of the Indian Air Force.
39:57From October 31st, he will officially take charge as the next IAF Chief.
40:03His term will be right up to December 31st, 2028.
40:08He takes over from Air Marshal AP Singh as the next Chief of the Indian Air Force.
40:14Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has been announced as the next IAF Chief.
40:18I want to take this across to Shivani Sharma to get more details.
40:21All his credentials. Shivani, over to you.
40:25Akshita, the government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit,
40:28who is currently the Vice Chief of Air Staff as the new Chief of Air Staff.
40:33And he'll be taking over from Air Chief Marshal Amarpreet Singh,
40:37who superannuates on 31st of October this year.
40:41And when we talk about the next Air Chief,
40:44he is a seasoned pilot with 3500 hours of extensive flying Akshita.
40:50And his experience cuts across to various aircraft,
40:54including the Mirage 2000, MIG, Kiran, Jaguars,
40:58which happen to be one of the most important workforces of the Indian Air Force.
41:02So now he will be taking over as the next Air Chief on 31st of October.
41:06And he'll be 29th Air Chief of the Indian Air Force.
41:10And this comes right on the occasion when the Indian Air Force is celebrating
41:13its 94th anniversary. Akshita.
41:17Great. Thanks very much, Shivani, for joining us with those details.
41:21Voting has come to an end in the crucial bi-poll in Tamil Nadu.
41:25In two seats, Madhuran Thakam as well as Dharapuram.
41:28And there's been brisk, high voter turnout recorded in both seats.
41:31Till 5pm, the numbers in Madhuran Thakam.
41:34The voter turnout, 83.86%. Huge number there.
41:38In Dharapuram, 78.53%.
41:41So both the seats seeing brisk voting,
41:44much like what we saw months ago in April during the elections.
41:47People coming out in large numbers, but also, importantly,
41:50the impact of the SIR exercise.
41:53Let's, in fact, get you all of the reactions that have come in through the day
41:58as voting continued in these two seats.
42:07Let's go.
42:12Let's go.
42:13Let's go.
42:15Let's go.
42:20Let's go.
42:24Let's go.
42:26Let's go.
42:39Let's go.
42:41DMK to the back to this constituency to serve the people. Anger has been able to see from the face
42:48of
42:48the Madarandakam electorate. Therefore, they want a change. They are willing, wholeheartedly,
42:56with unanimity, they come forward to the polling session and they are casting their vote for the
43:02DMK. So if it is a challenge, I ask my brother, Mr. Adhavarjana, to keep his resignation ready on
43:369th.
43:38The DMK candidate here, who spoke to us, clearly says that this is a fight between
43:41Dharma and Adharma, while the DMK candidate very clearly says that the people are completely
43:45upset with the TVK government. The TVK government, the candidate very clearly says that this time
43:50also the Gen C will definitely support the TVK over here, Raksita.
43:54Anika Keshav is live with us from Dharapuram. Anika, what have you seen through the day in
43:58Dharapuram? A seat also that's seen responding not as much as Madarandakam, but still healthy
44:02voter turnout.
44:07Well, in fact, Akhita and Dharapuram, it's particularly in the Kongu region, right? People
44:11are largely silent. They're quite tight-lipped. I could sense a sense of disappointment with
44:17the people with the fact that there has been a candidate jump, but the fact that the power
44:21of the magical two leaves symbol still remains strong, particularly in Dharapuram, in Kongunadu,
44:27but particularly over here, the last time, AIADMK won by a margin, won by 81,000 votes. So this
44:33time, it's going to be very interesting to really find out if TVK will be able to score past AIADMK,
44:39or will DMK make a comeback? So certainly, in Kongunadu, all the parties, in fact, four
44:44parties, NTK included, are going ahead with all their might to sort of win in Kongunadu.
44:49Okay, interesting to see what really the result will throw up. Reminder that that's on Friday,
44:53and we'll track that very closely. Thanks, Pramoda and Arga for those updates. I'll just
44:57quickly switch over also to the Bengal bi-pool, the prestige battle in Nandigram. Polling
45:03there too has come to an end. Quickly, we'll flash out the numbers of the voter turnout in
45:07Nandigram till 5pm at 79.39%. In Bengal too, a healthy voter turnout that we saw months ago,
45:14that trend continuing. Nandigram seeing a healthy voter turnout of 79.39%. Remember,
45:21for Nandigram too, we will see the result coming forth on Friday, with a whole lot of loaded
45:27political messaging, because this is the first electoral test for Mamta after the TMC split,
45:32though Mamta did withdraw her candidate and has endorsed the Congress. So we'll track very
45:36closely that update as well. We're just flashing out the numbers as far as the water turnout is concerned.