- 13 minutes ago
The Election Commission of India has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court refuting allegations of unilateral voter deletions by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
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00:01Hello and welcome. You're watching India First. I'm Gaurav Savant.
00:05The special intensive revision of the electoral rolls that's battle is now not just playing out
00:11on the streets, but also in the Supreme Court of India. The Election Commission has filed a
00:17detailed affidavit with a point-by-point response to allegations of vote jury. The Election Commission
00:26has denied all allegations of unilateral decisions taken by the Chief Election Commissioner
00:31Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission, on a signed affidavit, insists that all orders,
00:38the three orders related to the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls, were taken
00:44unanimously. On the issue of Form 6, they say the Form 6 has not been amended and that no voter
00:52can
00:52be added or deleted from the electoral rolls without the order of the ERO. So let's take,
01:00break this down point-by-point on charges made and the EC's response, the EC's clarification
01:08on a sworn affidavit. So on allegations of unilateral decisions by CC Gyanesh Kumar, the ECI says,
01:15all orders were unanimously approved. On Form 6, the report flags an alleged change without government
01:25approval to Form 6, the annexure. The ECI says, Form 6 has not been amended. The annexure is for mapping
01:34to ease requirement for additional documents. On Goa's 97 voters allegedly left out of the final
01:44electoral rolls. The ECI in its response filed in the Supreme Court says, 88 names out of those 97
01:52have already been enrolled. Six others were overseas. On West Bengal Tribunal Appeals, the Election
02:01Commission of India says, the CEO's office in Bengal acted under orders of the Supreme Court, though
02:08the matters raised there were not brought before the Election Commission. On ECI net access, the ECI
02:16says, voter additions and deletions require an order from the competent authority and the competent
02:24authority is the ERO or the Electoral Registration Officer. On work redistribution, and this again was a
02:34major issue because this is where the newspaper report had claimed that the Election Commissioners
02:38had reached out to the Cabinet Secretary and this indicated that all was not well within the Election
02:43Commission. The Election Commission of India affidavit says that this July 28 order was never implemented
02:50after both the Election Commissioners issued a joint direction on the 30th of July. And on official
02:57communication allegedly issued without approval, the Commission says that officers exceeding their
03:03delegated power will face action. But the opposition, led by the Congress, they're clearly not backing
03:11down. They're not satisfied with these answers. They say this is very clever wordplay. There is no response
03:18on merits. Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition, for example, he repeated the charge that the special
03:26intensive revision is all about democratic rights, no doubt. But voters in India are being denied their
03:34rightful place in this electoral process. The Congress party maintains that the fight is not merely about
03:40paperwork, but whether every eligible citizen actually gets to exercise their right to vote. And now the
03:48Congress party says they will take this war even further. The Congress party now wants to have
03:56a mock parliament. And in this mock parliament, there will be a debate and ultimately mock impeachment of
04:06the CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Now, the Congress party says their efforts to have this mock parliament have been blocked.
04:13The Ashok Hotel, where they plan to have this mock parliament. Apparently, Congress says police denied
04:20them permission. But the Delhi police has issued a clarification countering the claims of the Congress
04:26party. Delhi police officials have said that the Congress party's NOC to have a protest at Ramlila
04:33ground has not been withdrawn. Protest permission still stands. Police say they are not interfering
04:40with any of the rally preparations. The proposed mock parliament inside the Ashok Hotel falls outside the
04:49jurisdiction. So they say we have nothing to do with what happens inside the Ashok Hotel. As far as Ramlila
04:56Maidan is concerned, they have permission, they have an NOC, they can do what they want there. The Congress
05:02party, they've dug in their heels. As they say, they will continue with their protests at the Ramlila
05:09Maidan. Traders are now red flagging these planned protests. Traders in that area, they are asking the
05:16Congress party to shift either to Burari or to Nehru Stadium, where at least business in this very
05:25important festival season will not be adversely impacted. They've actually warned, they've cautioned
05:32that if protests are held at the Ramlila Maidan and if it's a sustained protest, then 20 markets, 20 markets
05:41in and around that area of Ramlila Maidan will be adversely impacted and the losses could be up to a
05:48tune
05:48of 10,000 crore rupees during the festival season. And then they'd say there are multiple hospitals in
05:56the region. Entry and exit including of emergency vehicles to hospitals may also be adversely impacted.
06:03The BJP has taken up this issue. They've accused the Congress of putting their political agenda,
06:11ahead of public interest. The BJP has accused the Congress of putting politics over public, alleging
06:18it's turning the SIR battle into a political campaign, ignoring traders' concerns over business
06:24losses. This political contest is now moving towards the month of November with both sides preparing for
06:32contesting street campaigns. So Rahul Gandhi's Congress is pushing a safe democracy agenda. The BJP is
06:39launching a nationwide padhyatra from the 1st of November under the slogan,
06:45Lok Tantra Bachao or Save Democracy A Rajakta Hatao. The BJP says the campaign is intended to counter
06:52the opposition's narrative and create awareness about the special intensive revision of the electoral
06:58roles. And there are multiple union ministers and chief ministers from NDA ruled states who are expected
07:04to participate in the counter mobilization to indicate a national footprint. Battle lines are
07:12very clearly drawn. Congress protest versus BJP's padhyatra. The big question, is it about protecting
07:19voter rights as the Congress claims or politicizing the electoral revision as the BJP hits back? Then the
07:26Congress says, why is it that the BJP says a Congress rally will lead to disruption but the BJP padhyatra
07:34in the
07:35same festival season will not? We'll get you all sides of the debate keeping India first. But first,
07:42let me get you the war of words.
07:45The new Hindustan has been shown by the Arab people of Hindustan,
07:51which has no authority for the farmers or farmers,
07:57only has the only way to make the Arab people of Hindustan.
08:04416 voters have been cut down in 416.
08:08The illegal people have been cut down to Gyanesh Kumar Ji.
08:19foreign
08:24foreign
08:25foreign
08:34foreign
08:56dillie के लोगों में वो साह है और उत्तर प्रदेश भी गया था वहां भी देख रहा हो कि एक
09:01तरीक के जो हमान किया है उसमें बड़ी संख्या में लोग आएंगे और इतहासी हो गाए अभी तक जितनी रैलियां
09:09हुई है दिली में उसने सबसे बड़ी रैली होगी है
09:12कांग्रेस को ना तो देश्की चिंता है ना देश्वास्यों की ना देश्की अर्थ-व्रशिय नगा की उनको तक वाल अपने
09:19पॉलिटिकल एजेंक प्रदे की चिंता है कांग्रेस
09:22to the city of the country.
09:26If the people of the country
09:28and the people of the country
09:29listen to the people of the country,
09:31listen to the people.
09:33But in the world,
09:37listen to the people of the country.
09:39First of all, they didn't show go to the loan.
09:41Then they came here.
09:43They told we cannot allow you.
09:46That means this is not the Delhi police decision.
09:49It is the decision of Mahirantra Modi and Amit Shah.
09:52Their pet, Ganesh Kumar,
09:56to be protected.
09:58This is what they are thinking.
10:00But we are not going to succumb on their pressures.
10:07The traders are appealing to him.
10:09He is asking the traders to do his work.
10:11In effect, he is telling the traders that
10:13why don't you ask for the resignation?
10:15They are saying we want to enjoy the festival of Diwali.
10:17We don't want disruption in our business.
10:19We want our customers and our other people to move freely.
10:23So Rahul Gandhiji's politics is very strange.
10:26What is his demand, his desire?
10:28He now wants to give it to the traders and ask them to do it.
10:31What the traders will say on this is best to ask them.
10:36So we will get you the political debate.
10:38We will get you the legal debate.
10:39Has the election commission effectively answered questions
10:42on alleged vote-jury with facts in Supreme Court?
10:46The apex court, of course, has given 10 days to the petitioners
10:49to file their response.
10:50We are told the ECI can also file additional affidavits.
10:54But has the ECI affidavit taken the sting out of the opposition charge of vote-jury?
11:00Or is there merit in the opposition saying that this is very clever wordplay
11:05with the ECI being economical with the truth on facts?
11:09Joining me on India first is Brijesh Kalappa, national spokesperson of the Congress Party.
11:15A well-respected lawyer.
11:16Brijesh Kalappa is always welcome.
11:18Rohan Gupta, national spokesperson of the BJP.
11:21And someone who has handled the nuts and bolts of election strategy
11:25in poll-bound states.
11:26Most recently in Bengal where the BJP had spectacular victory.
11:31Rohan Gupta, welcome.
11:32Jay Anand Dehadra is a Supreme Court advocate.
11:34Joins us for a legal perspective.
11:36Jay, welcome.
11:37And Swati Chaturvedi is a columnist, author,
11:39and an investigative journalist.
11:41Swati, welcome.
11:42We've got experts.
11:44All domain experts for you.
11:46And adequate time will be given to all to speak.
11:49Brijesh Kalappa, lead the charge.
11:52ECI says all decisions were unanimous.
11:55Does that take the sting out of Rahul Gandhi's attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar acting alone, sir?
12:02See, Gaurav, frankly, after several years of practice in the Supreme Court,
12:07I have come to realize that the judges just don't read only the affidavits.
12:11They also read newspapers.
12:13They are also abreast of what is happening in the country and around us.
12:17When as many as 14 letters have, you know, flown across from election commissions,
12:24from members of the election commission, to the chairman of the, to the CEC, and so on and so on.
12:31I don't know if, you know, the judges will so easily buy this kind of a version,
12:36which the election commission now, as an afterthought, what they call Lepapoti,
12:43is now going to present to the court.
12:44I find that, you know, difficult to kind of digest because there have been several letters which have been written
12:53and mainly, I think, as far as Form 6 is concerned, Mr. Joshi, the election commissioner, had written
13:01that don't change Form 6 without the government approval.
13:04Okay, fair enough. I'll come to Form 6 in just a moment, sir.
13:08So, we're taking this step by step.
13:10But you've raised a very valid point from your perspective.
13:14You're saying this is Lepapoti.
13:16And Lepapoti is such a beautiful word.
13:19Rohan Gupta, Congress is clearly not satisfied with the affidavit.
13:23They call it clever wordplay.
13:25Lepapoti is just, you know, very flimsy, trying to paper over differences
13:29or trying to paper over a very critical issue response, sir.
13:34I think I'll start with saying that,
13:36that is what Congress party is doing today.
13:41Why I'm telling this is, now they are not ready to believe the answer of the election commission
13:45saying that all the decisions are taken unanimously.
13:48That was the biggest allegation against Mr. Gyanesh Kumar that he takes,
13:51he took decision arbitrarily and never involved other two election commissioners.
13:56And that's what EC answer said, that obviously deliberations is a part of the process.
14:01But at the end of the day, all the decisions are,
14:03all three decisions of SIR are taken unanimously.
14:06Will Congress party apologize?
14:08Will they do the right to ask them?
14:10The biggest point was this.
14:12Each and every point of EC reply clearly exposes Congress party's,
14:17you know, unnecessarily allegations of vote.
14:20Tell us all the Congress party.
14:21Tell us.
14:22You are hurting the people of the country.
14:25You don't have any evidence.
14:27You are having that arrogance.
14:30Whatever happens.
14:31We are right.
14:31What is this?
14:32If you are right, why can't you prove in front of court or in front of EC
14:36or in front of CGI or in front of Rastrapati that, okay, look,
14:40we have these specific evidences which clearly shows that this is what wrong has happened.
14:44Just because there is a feeling in mind of your leader, that doesn't mean that you spoil the value of
14:49so many small trainers.
14:51This is really a problem.
14:52That's an interesting point you raise.
14:54That's an interesting point you raise.
14:56I'll come to form 6 point that Vrijesh Kalappa had raised in just a moment.
14:59I want to stay on unanimous decision, decision by consensus or just decisions of election commission.
15:06Does the affidavit answer that Swati Chaturvedi?
15:09Because the ECI has clarified that whether there are notes or queries or suggestions or observations recorded
15:15either by the CEC or by election commissioners during the process or during the processing of a file
15:22do not by themselves constitute decisions of the election commission.
15:26Now, you've covered the government for a very long time.
15:30And you know in files, there may be notings, there may be disagreement.
15:34But ultimately, if all three have put their signature to a decision, then it's a unanimous decision.
15:41Does this affidavit weaken the opposition's charge on the issue of Gyanesh Kumar taking decisions on his own, ma'am?
15:49Thank you, Gaurav, so much for having me on your show.
15:52We both worked for the newspaper, which broke the story.
15:56So, I will say that, you know, depending any opposition, it could be the BJP tomorrow,
16:02it's the Congress or whoever today.
16:04You know, a political charge cannot just be simply, it's dangerous to base it on a simple newspaper report
16:11because the burden of proof is much higher, which is required by the Supreme Court.
16:17So, you know, all of this ambush litigation based on a single newspaper report,
16:22which was done by one of the litigants.
16:24Later on, they filed other affidavits as well.
16:26But I think politically it was wrong because the election commission has answered.
16:31However, the election commission being opaque, the election commission not being transparent,
16:38the election commission taking, you know, very strange decisions, disenfranchising voters is real.
16:45I mean, you cannot, nobody can hide away from that.
16:48The opposition is doing wrong by making Gyanesh Kumar sort of the face of the problem
16:52or the face of the disease and going by newspaper reports.
16:55And what you just reported that this mock parliament, I think is, you know, again, a ridiculous idea.
17:02Because the problem is with the system. It is not with an individual.
17:06And the Congress, which used to be a centrist white tent party, our oldest political party,
17:12is doing more and more left. I can only call it left, no, Tanki.
17:15Because, you know, this street play, mock impeachment, what is all this?
17:21Does a serious political player do all this?
17:23I mean, are you a serious contender for power if you're doing all of this?
17:27You know, I'll get Brijes Kalappa to respond to that.
17:29There's a very pertinent point that you're raising, Swati, that, you know, Congress is a centrist party.
17:35They're doing something what the kangaroo courts of CPIML would do in the forest.
17:40Exactly!
17:40You know, that's the charge that's being leveled.
17:43But, Brijes Kalappa, I'll just come to you. Let me quickly bring in Jain and Dehad Rai.
17:47Sir, files ordinarily move first, as the ECI in the affidavit says,
17:52from one EC to the other EC and finally to the CEC.
17:58Quotes seeking file notings, as are the petitioners.
18:02Sir, the affidavit has been suspended, but does the devil lie in the detail?
18:07Will the ECI have to submit notings on files and signatures to show it was a unanimous decision beyond an
18:14affidavit?
18:16Gaurav, good evening. I think, let me frame it this way.
18:18This is a huge self-goal by the Congress party, its main petitioner, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and the other petitioners
18:24who've basically been baited by a newspaper report.
18:28We all remember that report in the Indian Express dated the 23rd of September.
18:32Now, please see, Gaurav, what has happened immediately after.
18:35Certain allegations were made that decisions were not unanimous.
18:39That is what it said.
18:39And therefore, there was illegality in the decisions taken by the Chief Election Commissioner is what the newspaper report essentially
18:45stated.
18:45Now, please see what the affidavit says, Gaurav.
18:47It says, and this is where, you know, the proof of the pudding is in the SIR decisions.
18:53The affidavit says, forget Form 6 for a moment.
18:56But the three main SIR decisions, Gaurav, were all taken unanimously by the EC as a whole.
19:04And this, you'll remember, is the mandate of the EC Act of 2023.
19:08So, Section 18 in that Act basically required all the ECs to sit together with the Chief Election Commissioner and
19:15decide in a manner that was unanimous.
19:18That was point number one in the affidavit, the main takeaway for me.
19:21And second, in so far as the Form 6 is concerned, the EC has now clarified.
19:25Sir, sir, give me a moment on Form 6 because I have a separate question on Form 6 where I
19:29want Vrijesh Kalappa to first lead that charge.
19:32But before I come to Form 6, Vrijesh Kalappa, I want you to respond to what Swati Chaturvedi said.
19:37That, you know, Congress is a very serious national party.
19:41It has a pan-India presence, mock parliament, mock impeachment of the CEC.
19:48You know, schools have mock parliaments.
19:50Here, the principal opposition party wants to do a mock parliament either at Ramlila Maidan or at Ashok Hotel.
19:58See, Gaurav, I think I have three panelists who have been speaking against the Congress.
20:04I wish it were more well-balanced.
20:06Sorry, I'm not speaking against the Congress.
20:09No, one moment.
20:09One moment.
20:12See, as far as this mock parliament issue is concerned, right?
20:15Every political party, and it's the bounding duty of every political party, to reach its constituents at various age groups,
20:26right?
20:26So you can't have a public rally which generally appeals to between 35 to 60.
20:35And you can't say, like, this is what we are going to do for all age groups, right?
20:40You need to have, you can't have an omnibus kind of political strategy which appeals to everybody, right?
20:48You have to have specific issues or specific ways in which to reach younger groups.
20:56And I think a mock parliament is something which younger people, Gen Z, is more familiar with.
21:03Because this is what they do in colleges and schools, right?
21:06So if you're going to tell them, and if you have to give them the various shades of the controversy,
21:12I think it's essential to have things like mock parliament and so on and so forth.
21:16Fair enough.
21:16Now can I come to that question of form 6?
21:19It's to you.
21:20It's for you.
21:20No, second part is what my former colleague in the Congress party, Mr. Gupta said.
21:26Mr. Gupta said, no, no, there is an issue of the traders who are going to be affected.
21:32Now, traders are bound to be affected.
21:34So let the BJP call off its rally.
21:37They are also planning a rally.
21:39Let them call it off.
21:40Because ultimately, if the BJP is going to have a rally, equally the traders are going to be affected.
21:45Does it mean that the traders are affected only by a Congress rally?
21:49If the BJP is going to have a counter rally, as against the Congress party, I think the BJP should
21:56call it off.
21:56Because they are very concerned about the traders.
21:59And the Congress party is not concerned about the traders.
22:01Respond, because it can't be that the traders will be impacted by the Congress rally at Ramlila and not by
22:06the BJP's counter rally, sir.
22:08Respond.
22:09Definitely.
22:10I think Brijesbhai should study more before he says, we are organizing padhyatras, which are not at one place.
22:16And we are ensuring that we don't impact anybody, even the small traders.
22:20That is the big difference.
22:21Now, you tell me, will you cancel your rally?
22:24I think Brijesbhai, you are a good person.
22:26You will not listen to me.
22:27Just let me complete.
22:28You are a good person.
22:30I'm listening to you.
22:31I've been authorized by my party.
22:32Let me complete.
22:33I've been authorized by my party to say we will cancel the rally.
22:36Mr. Kalappa, let Mr. Gupta complete his point.
22:40Let Mr. Gupta complete his point.
22:41Can I am coming back to you, sir?
22:42This is the basic difference between you and us.
22:45Whenever we do anything, even if we have to do protests for the constitutional institutions,
22:50we ensure that we don't impact the people or the festivals or the traders.
22:54That's why we have organized padhyatras at different, different places.
22:57At each assembly or each district place, we are organizing a padhyatra where we don't impact the common man.
23:03This is the basic difference between politics of Congress party and us that we don't want.
23:07We are not selfish.
23:08And after he says reply, I think you must cancel.
23:10And you should go and apologize to the people that the core points on which you are raising this issue,
23:15they are all exposed now.
23:16And still you are doing it just in your applicants.
23:18Let me take the core point.
23:18Because you want to bring the point.
23:18Sir, since you raised the issue of the core point,
23:20on Brijes Kalapa, the issue of Form 6, the declaration form requires deleted voters to provide details of earlier electoral
23:29role entries or the presence of either their parents, if not their parents, their grandparents in earlier electoral roles.
23:39Sir, the ECI calls this mapping exercise.
23:43Any perceived mismatch of lack of detail in this regard is broadly termed by them as logical discrepancy.
23:51Now, sir, wear your legal hat.
23:53Now, sir, wear your legal hat.
23:53You've practiced in the Supreme Court.
23:55When you see this affidavit that they are not, you know, disenfranchising anyone.
24:00They're trying to, they say, they're trying to facilitate new voters.
24:03If the parents are not there, get their grandparents.
24:05If they are there, it still enables you and then you don't have to submit additional documents.
24:10Does that satisfy you, sir?
24:12See, again, as regards Mr. Gupta, let me first respond to that.
24:17Okay.
24:18Point is, Mr. Gupta is now making a concession on national television and saying that the BJP is not able
24:23to muster the crowds.
24:25Therefore, they're having small padhyatras, right?
24:29So, obviously, the people are not there.
24:31So, this is the obvious conclusion.
24:32What are you saying?
24:33Second part is, if he wants us to cancel the rally, the onus is always on government.
24:39As everybody will appreciate, we have been in government for many years.
24:44The BJP has been in government now for 12 years.
24:46If the government has to organize both, it can't be an either-or situation.
24:53It has to be that the government organizes rallies.
24:57Rallies will take place on the one hand and the businessman will do business on the other.
25:01So, it can't be an either-or situation.
25:03It means that the government has fallen flat on its face and it's an inept and useless government.
25:10Only an inept and useless government can say that, look, the businessmen are going to be affected.
25:17Fair enough, sir.
25:18Point taken from Form 6.
25:20In regard to Form 6.
25:22Now, as you have been seeing since day one and since the 26th of September, 2026, there have been various
25:32changes with regard to Form 6.
25:35First, it was, you know, supposed to be, it was completely different.
25:39Now, there have been various thoughts and the Supreme Court has also clarified that, look, as far as the Form
25:466 parameters are concerned, you had to consult us.
25:50This was a statement which the bench made and we don't know how seriously to take it and we'll know
25:55on the next date of hearing.
25:57Now, the point is this, that to the best of my understanding, Form 6, any changes to Form 6, have
26:04to be made under the registration of Elector's Rules 1960.
26:08And this is enabled by Section 28 of the Representation of People Act, 1950.
26:15So, if any changes had to be made, it couldn't have been the Election Commission which made these changes.
26:21And these changes definitely had to be made by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
26:27Fair enough.
26:28Right?
26:29Fair enough.
26:29So, the point is that there have been a series of changes.
26:32And why the Election Commission chooses to make these changes is obvious because their intent is to disenfranchise.
26:41And I think it's…
26:42Rohan Gupta, respond.
26:42One moment.
26:44I think it's very clear that they have a profile of voters who they don't want in electoral rolls.
26:50If they don't have these voters, for instance, in Karnataka, one crore voters have been cut out.
26:56Okay.
26:56One crore, not less.
26:58One crore.
26:59So, therefore, if the BJP is going to cut so many voters, the first thing is, why is the BJP
27:06speaking for the Election Commission?
27:08Sir, but my question to you is that one crore names are being cut off.
27:11It's your government in Karnataka.
27:13Why is it permitting it?
27:14And if it's your voters, why aren't you ensuring their names are there?
27:17It was a PNC government in West Bengal.
27:19It was a PNC government in West Bengal which couldn't control this.
27:22But you've raised a fair point.
27:23You've raised a fair point.
27:25Rohan Gupta, respond.
27:26And the CEO has now become the Chief Secretary.
27:28See, this is the problem.
27:29This is the problem with Congress Party.
27:31Opposition says EC affidavit.
27:32So, I want to restrict myself to the EC affidavit which is clever wordplay, says the opposition.
27:38Form 6 is for new voters, they say.
27:41Annexure of information is about grandparents and changing Form 6.
27:45Absolutely.
27:45Which ECI is not entitled to do, sir.
27:48Opposition says ECI actions are illegal.
27:50This is the problem with Congress Party.
27:53They don't want to even look at things which is not right or which is wrong.
27:58They don't want to, what EC has clearly repented.
28:00Congress Party also knows what point they are raising is completely wrong.
28:04EC has clearly told there is absolutely no changes in Form 6.
28:07It is only in SIR going straight.
28:10Just for the sake of presentation on the website, Form 6 and these declarations were placed together.
28:16It is not together.
28:17That placement was together.
28:19That's what EC said.
28:20And then from October 21st, they are now placed separately so that Congress doesn't disinterpret.
28:24What is this?
28:25This is a national party.
28:26And Swati ji must be feeling bad that for the life she has always supported Congress
28:30and today Congress gave her certificate also that she is not with them.
28:34What is this?
28:35This is a left Congress Party.
28:36I think Congress Party must introspect that something which is completely wrong
28:40and you try to defend in minds of people, people will not accept you.
28:44No, no.
28:45But what I am…
28:46Sir, you attack the Congress and the Congress attacks you, that's fine.
28:49But Swati is a journalist, sir.
28:51Why you say that Swati has always defended Congress Party?
28:53She hasn't, sir.
28:54She speaks what perhaps she thinks is right, Swati.
28:57No, no.
28:58I said something different.
29:00No, no, no.
29:00I said something different.
29:01What I say, generally Swati supports Congress Party and she also got a certificate that she is not supporting.
29:07I am praising her.
29:08I am not against her.
29:09Oh, you are praising her.
29:10Okay.
29:10I am glad both the Congress and the BJP are attacking me because I think that kind of speaks for
29:15my utility.
29:15No, I am supporting you, Swati.
29:16But…
29:16I am supporting you.
29:19Congress is attacking you.
29:20I am supporting you.
29:22No, I am sorry.
29:23I am sorry.
29:23I don't want any support from any politician.
29:25I am a neutral journalist.
29:27I…
29:28Yeah.
29:28You can attack me, Mr. Kalappa.
29:30Yeah.
29:31And that kind of proves my neutrality.
29:33But Mr. Kalappa should not be so insecure, say three people in the panel are all anti-Congress.
29:37I am talking as a citizen, I do not like this mode of protest.
29:41I…
29:42I think…
29:43I think what is going on is our voter rolls is a very serious issue.
29:45Vote theory is a huge serious issue.
29:47And the Congress is a principal opposition party.
29:50And what it's doing is childish.
29:52I mean…
29:52Okay.
29:53But let me come to the point of form 6, Swati.
29:56You know, EC says there is no new form, there is no change in form.
30:01This is an annexure to help voters that if your parents are not found on the early electoral rolls,
30:07even if your grandparents are there, you know, it entitles you to be a voter.
30:11And it reduces requirement for additional documentation.
30:15Does that response satisfy you?
30:18No. No, Gaurav, it doesn't at all.
30:20Because also, if you remember earlier, the same EC had claimed sanctioned from the Supreme Court for this.
30:26And the Supreme Court had turned it down.
30:28The Supreme Court has let down the EC very gently on this.
30:31They should have asked a couple of very, very tough questions.
30:34Because the EC response does not satisfy me.
30:36It has gone way beyond its remit.
30:38It is almost shrinking the electoral rate.
30:40And I don't think the opacity involved in the entire process…
30:44You know, one crore of people knocked off the rolls in Karnataka is insane.
30:49I mean, are we trying to grow…
30:50You know, we are a growing country.
30:51We have a young voter base.
30:54And what we are doing is we are almost shrinking the electoral rate.
30:57It's almost like a struggle to vote.
31:00No, but I want to understand, if I am a bona fide voter and if my name is cut off,
31:06I am going to raise this issue, Jai.
31:09Jai, I am going to say, how dare you remove me from the electoral rolls.
31:13But, sir, given your legal understanding of the ECI and the opposition point of view on Form 6,
31:20Is this…
31:21Does this amount to changing the original form?
31:24Has the EC overstepped its jurisdiction on trying to have a clean electoral roll?
31:30And one crore voters removed in Karnataka as Bijesh Kalapa and Swati say…
31:35They say this is criminal.
31:37This is disenfranchising people.
31:40Gaurav, let me put it this way, that this affidavit has taken the wind out of the sails of the
31:44petitioners who filed this petition in the Supreme Court.
31:46And the reason for that is that the EC has now clarified on affidavit no less, at the risk of
31:51perjury.
31:51They've said that there has been no change statutorily, no amendment to Form 6, which is very, very crucial.
31:57Now, you ask a very pertinent question when you say that, look, are they within their remit?
32:02Do they have the authority, power?
32:04Is it legal if they bring in some more layers of verification?
32:07The answer to that, Gaurav, is yes, no less than the Supreme Court of India in May of this year
32:13earlier, when the Bihar SIR issue went to the Supreme Court, has confirmed and said, yes, you have the residual
32:19power in terms of Section 21.3 of the Representation of People's Act to determine whatever procedure you deem appropriate
32:26to verify.
32:26So, what did the EC do? It is, after all, in terms of Article 3.24.1, it is the
32:31job, constitutional duty, Gaurav, of the EC to ensure the preparation of roles in a correct manner, in a responsible
32:38manner.
32:38So, for example, if you have Bangladeshis coming in on our eastern flank, I would hope, I would hope very
32:44hard that the EC is doing its job in ensuring that non-Indians, non-citizens, Bangladeshis, Rohingyas, do not, for
32:50God's sake, come and vote in our country and determine who our leaders should be.
32:55Absolutely.
33:24Absolutely.
33:26This is an ill-timed petition.
33:27What you should have taken on politically, you have taken the bait, you have gone to the Supreme Court and
33:32now you stand thoroughly exposed and embarrassed, which is why you now need to do a mock parliament.
33:36Perhaps you will elect Mr. Rahul Gandhi as the mock Prime Minister of India now.
33:41Mr. Kalapa, since the direct reference has been made, kindly respond, sir.
33:45Before I bring Rohan Gupta into that other charge that you have leveled of one crore being disenfranchised in Karnataka.
33:51But, Mr. Kalapa, the floor is yours.
33:54Yeah, I am sorry, but I am very surprised to see people who know the theory of separation of powers.
34:03I think on the election commission, you cut off the Bangladesh, you cut off the Pakistanis, you cut off so
34:09and so and all that because only Indians need to vote.
34:12Now, there is, under the separation of powers doctrine, the election commission is not supposed to do that, right?
34:19The election commission is to conduct a free and fair election, whose job is for this to do.
34:26So, the point is that if there is a ministry of home, there is a police force and they are
34:31meant to do this.
34:32Now, if you are going to say, OK, there is no separation of powers, let's now sit as a kangaroo
34:37court because there are five of us here and we can give a list of people who we feel are
34:42Pakistanis or Bangladeshis around us.
34:45So, let everybody get into this act then. It makes a joke of the entire process which we are, you
34:51know, we are used to as running of the country.
34:55Every, not every institute is given the job of finding Bangladeshis in our electoral rolls.
35:04It's only specific agencies who have to do this and that definitely is not the job of the election commission
35:10of India.
35:11There is no judgment of the Supreme Court which says that the election commission of India has absolute powers that
35:18can do anything they like to, including finding out who the parliamentarians in the Pakistanis are.
35:22I think this is the most absurd thing.
35:24OK, OK, Jai on the legal point. Jai, go on the legal point and Rohan, please go on the political
35:29point after Jai. But go ahead, Jai.
35:31Very quickly, Gaurav, I just want to make two very quick points. And perhaps Mr. Kalappa has forgotten the history
35:36of his own political party, the Congress.
35:38There have been 10 SIRs that have been done till date. One is going on right now. The earlier one
35:43happened when the NDA was in power in 2002 and 2003.
35:46And before that, eight have taken place when the Congress was leading, when the Congress was in government or was
35:54leading the UPA. That is one aspect.
35:56Second, the power which was granted to conduct SIR was brought in in 1956 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime
36:02Minister of India, who was a Congress leader.
36:05So the SIR, the inception of the SIR starts, in fact, with the history of the Congress.
36:10And eight SIRs have taken place when the Congress was in power.
36:12So there is a political and illegal dimension to this. And the other aspect, which is very, very important, Gaurav,
36:18is that I'm not saying that it's only the Rohingyas and the Bangladeshis that have to be removed from our
36:22electoral rolls.
36:23For God's sake, we're a country where mass migration takes place. People die. People move out. They go to different
36:29places.
36:30So naturally, and we're a very large country of 1.4 billion people. The numbers are bound to be large
36:34when a cleanup exercise is undertaken.
36:36Of course, there are going to be people who have moved from one place to the other and they're going
36:39to be removed from one place.
36:40But one crore, Rohan Gupta, one crore people.
36:44Vrijesh Kalappa raises the point that in Karnataka, you are disenfranchising people by removing one crore from the electoral roll.
36:52Sir, respond.
36:53See, I will, this is the problem of Congress Party. They get exposed every day and still they do their
36:58negative narration.
37:00I'll give the answer of EC. Out of this one crore, around 80 lakhs are shifted voters.
37:05The voters, right? The voters who have moved away from one place to another, right?
37:09Deceased voters are around 16 lakhs. The remaining are duplicate entries.
37:14Now, Mr. Vijesh Kalappa, would you apologize? What are you saying?
37:17Please, at least as a national party, don't spread lies. This is the answer of EC.
37:21Now, you go and challenge. You have BLS. You just check whether EC is saying wrong.
37:25If so many voters have shifted, how can you allocate anybody?
37:29These are the shifted voters. These are the deceased voters. And these are the duplicate entries.
37:34What is wrong in this? Have you challenged? Have you filed any challenge?
37:38Referee against this? Please don't unnecessarily spoil the reputation of any constitutional institution like that.
37:45They don't want to have a assumption.
37:47Would you want to respond? Would you want to respond? Because electoral politics is such that, you know,
37:53your BLA, if your voters are being removed, your BLA will kick up a shindy.
37:58Your BLA will say, how dare you remove my voters? Won't they create objections?
38:04In theory, it happens. In theory, what you're saying, it does happen.
38:06But in fact, what happens is, let me give you a real instance.
38:10That in the JJ Bela, a state slump cluster of Yamuna, right?
38:17729 voters existed during the last election, right?
38:21So, all their voters, all the votes were removed.
38:25You know, how many of them have been able to make it?
38:27Back to the list? One. One single person.
38:31So, what's your BLA doing there, sir?
38:33Why isn't he taking it up with the election commission and saying, how dare you remove my voters?
38:38One minute. Forget it. Let's assume that there has been a complete crackdown, a breakdown of this BLA system.
38:45I think that's totally gone. But is there no onus on the election commission of India?
38:50Can they do it, you know, without hurting their conscience?
38:56They say that 729 are cut or 728 out of 729 are cut.
39:02Sir, Rahul Gandhi was on ground zero.
39:04We say, great. You're doing a great job. Let's applaud them.
39:08Is this something we as Indians, as conscientious Indians will accept?
39:12I think this is something which your viewers must decide.
39:16No, I mean, let's leave it to your viewers to decide.
39:20Rahul Gandhi, quickly respond. The last 30 seconds I have on this part of the show.
39:23I spoke about one crowd. He immediately shifted.
39:27EC says the decisions are taken unanimously. They will shift to Form 6.
39:32EC says Form 6, the additional form was to facilitate the new voters so that they don't have to pass
39:37through the process.
39:38They will immediately shift. Is this the national party?
39:42And I'm really sorry to say that this kind of narrative, can you win the hearts of people?
39:47You got defeated and we are on the same narrative.
39:49Again, you have so much of compulsion to go on the same narrative where you got defeated.
39:54Because if so many people are defeated, there will be ruckus on the roads.
39:57You don't have to organize rally. Those people will organize the rally.
40:00What kind of narrative you people are spreading?
40:03You are just spreading lies.
40:04You know that your lie will be exposed in the next sentence. Still, you are doing it everywhere.
40:09I'll give you one example.
40:10Sahil, in Maharashtra, Congress party has given affidavit to election commission November 29, 2024.
40:16EC replied on December 2024. After that, Congress party has not replied back.
40:21What is this? You are just making mockery of the institution in the media.
40:25Will you survive with that? No, you cannot.
40:28You cannot put the owners of your losses to the people or the EC.
40:31You see, you have to introspect why you are losing the election.
40:34Now, on India today, on India first, for us, it's always facts first.
40:39We've given you all sides of the story.
40:41We've got you experts, analysts and the two principal parties, the BJP and the Congress, giving you their sides of
40:48the story.
40:48On India first, it's facts first for you to decide who's right and who's not.
40:54And ultimately, it's for the Supreme Court to judge.
40:57We'll be tracking that story very closely.
40:59I want to thank all our guests.
41:00A quick break.
41:01On the other side, Israel votes to elect the next government.
41:06Records show 44% voter turnout and that's tremendous voter turnout in Israel.
41:12What does this mean for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
41:16Is this a vote in support or a vote to change?
41:20We get to the latest on the other side of a quick break.
41:22Stay with us.
41:25Stay with us.
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43:35Let me now get you the other big story we're tracking here on India today.
43:39A foreign funding trail, 92.33 crore under the scanner
43:44and allegations of information warfare aimed at undermining India's sovereignty.
43:50And these are very grave charges.
43:52The Enforcement Directorate has taken its case against a news organization news click to the Supreme Court,
44:00challenging the Delhi High Court decision to quash the money laundering proceedings against the portal
44:06and its founder, Prabir Purkayastha.
44:09The Enforcement Directorate has argued that the High Court overruled crucial email statements and other material
44:15and examined the merits of the case too early.
44:19The Enforcement Directorate has flagged 92.3 crore in alleged foreign exchange violations.
44:25This includes 9.59 crore in foreign direct investment and 82.63 crore in software export receipts,
44:33which the agency claims were payments against services that did not even exist.
44:39The agency is questioning not just where the money came from,
44:42but how it was rooted and how it was accounted for and what it was allegedly used to finance.
44:51At the center of the ED case is Neville Roy Singham, a US-born businessman based in Shanghai in China.
45:00The ED cites emails allegedly involving Singham, Newsclick founder Prabir Purkayastha and a certain Vijay Prasad.
45:08It alleges that funds move through foreign entities with Purkayastha and associates involved in the network.
45:14The agency has also raised allegations concerning an alleged legal network involving Chinese telecom companies,
45:22including Xiaomi and Vevo.
45:26At the central agency's most serious allegation concerns the intended use of these funds.
45:31The agency claims Singham directed Newsclick's coverage to promote narrative favorable to China.
45:39It has cited coverage relating to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh,
45:44the farmers' protest and India's COVID-19 response as examples of content it alleges
45:50were part of a wider information warfare campaign.
45:54I quickly want to cut across to India today's Munish Pandey breaking this big story
46:00and getting us inside details of the ED's case.
46:03Munish, 92.3 crore under the scanner.
46:07Where did the money come from?
46:09How was it moved?
46:11What was it used for?
46:12Has to be more than just allegations and claims.
46:16Does the ED have documentary proof of how the money came in, for what purpose and how it was used?
46:26Well, Gaurav, at this point of time, ED maintains that they have concrete evidence to prove that
46:32the 9.59 crore which came to Newsclick as a foreign funding was in violation of, you know,
46:39the FDI rules in the country.
46:41The Reserve Bank of India was not kept in the loop and it was a clear-cut case of money
46:46laundering.
46:47But why this case is important, according to the enforcement director, Gaurav,
46:52and why this becomes important, Nibel Roy Singham is a very important person for the enforcement directorate.
46:59He is someone who is a U.S. citizen, but based in China, a very close association with the Chinese
47:07Communist Party.
47:08And he was investing money in Newsclick so that the image of India can be branded as a bad country,
47:17whereas China can be portrayed in a good way as far as the Indian audience is concerned.
47:24India has also found several evidence.
47:26For example, there are mail trails between Parveer Purkhayas and Nibel Roy Singham in which they are talking about the
47:36Indian audience,
47:37how there can be reports which can be against the Indian present government.
47:42For example, when it was COVID-19, then there was a coverage which portrayed what Indian government was doing at
47:52that point of time.
47:53That was shown in a bad light, according to the enforcement directorate.
47:57Second, again, it was farmers' agitation.
48:00That was also something which was highlighted by Nibel Roy Singham.
48:05And according to enforcement directorate, Newsclick was working on behest of Nibel Roy Singham.
48:13Not only this, when the enforcement directorate shared this information with the federal probe agency of U.S., which is
48:23FBI,
48:23they also found evidence that there was anti-Israel protest which was organized by Nibel Roy Singham.
48:31So there are multiple evidence which the enforcement directorate is confident about.
48:37And that is why now they have approached the Supreme Court.
48:40They are pretty confident that the high court order can be overturned by the Supreme Court.
48:48And the proceedings against Newsclick and Nibel Roy Singham can be continued.
48:53But as far as ED is concerned, there are multiple allegations against Newsclick and especially against Nibel Roy Singham,
49:01which according to enforcement directorate, were working against the country, against the present government.
49:07And that is why, according to enforcement directorate, this investigation becomes extremely important.
49:12Keep tracking that story.
49:14I will come back to you for more for the moment.
49:16Munish, many thanks.
49:20Israel's crucial elections are underway and there's a strong voter turnout.
49:25It's reached about 44.9%.
49:27Now, Israeli media cites Election Commission Committee in Israel.
49:33The Central Election Committee saying that there is increased voter turnout.
49:37And this is significantly higher than 38.9% recorded at the same time during the 2022 elections.
49:43More than 7.3 million people in Israel are eligible to vote to elect 120 members for their Knesset or
49:51the Israeli parliament
49:52in the first national elections since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks.
49:59Now, at the center of this high-stakes contest is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
50:06A leader who's dominated Israel's politics for decades, but now is facing perhaps the biggest test of his political career.
50:15Netanyahu's Likud party and its far-right coalition partners are up against the opposition bloc that includes the Yashar party,
50:24led by former army chief, military chief, Gandhi Eisenkot.
50:27Now, the stakes are enormous for both.
50:31Security issues surrounding the October 7, 2023 terror attack, Hamas-led attacks, the fallout of the war in West Asia,
50:40allegations of financial impropriety and rising cost of living, and deep divisions over Netanyahu's leadership
50:46have all become very key issues for the voter.
50:49The election is also drawing Israelis back from overseas.
50:53So, in tens and thousands, they're reportedly returning to Israel to vote.
50:58And I quickly want to cut across to India Today's Pranay Upadhyay, who joins us from Ground Zero in Jerusalem.
51:05Pranay, high voter turnout.
51:07What does this mean for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
51:11Does this indicate endorsement or change?
51:16You know, Gaurav, as you and I are having this conversation,
51:20a meeting is going in the election committee,
51:22and they are reviewing that there are requests that large number of voters are still in queue
51:27and whether they should consider to extend the voting time.
51:30Because so far, 10 hours of voting has already been done,
51:33and five more hours to go, because the voting continues till 10 p.m.
51:37And there is significantly higher voter turnout as far as this election of Israel is concerned.
51:42And as you and I have been discussing,
51:45that this is one of the fiercely contested elections in the electoral history,
51:49in the political history of Israel,
51:51because not only the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
51:54his policies are concerned,
51:55the recent statement which has been put out by or given by Prime Minister Netanyahu,
52:00he said that in the Arab sectors,
52:01large number of voters are in queue,
52:04they are voting, people of Israel should come out,
52:06they should vote.
52:07So you can very well see that, you know,
52:09which way this election could swing,
52:11because it's a tiebreaker kind of a situation,
52:14it's a very fiercely contested election,
52:15no party, no coalition is projected to win this election in a clear majority.
52:20And that's why it makes the electoral arithmetic of Israel very complicated,
52:25in which the role of these Arab parties will be very important,
52:29but both the coalition,
52:30coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu,
52:32and coalition led by Gandhi Eisenhower,
52:34has made it clear that they are not going to take the support of these Arab parties.
52:37So what will be the political fate of Israel will be sealed in the ballot boxes,
52:41and will come out only after the exit polls will show us at 10 or 5 p.m. in the
52:49night.
52:50And we'll be tracking that story very closely,
52:52but tell me this,
52:53either ways, you know,
52:55whether it's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition,
52:58or Gandhi Eisenhower's coalition,
53:01either ways,
53:02India-Israel relations remain extremely strong,
53:06and will remain so?
53:09Absolutely right, Gaurav.
53:10Since you have also reported from this country,
53:12and you know it very well,
53:14that over the years,
53:15what kind of goodwill India has generated in the land of Israel,
53:19and in fact,
53:19people come out very openly,
53:21very warmly,
53:21when they get to know that you are from India,
53:24and, you know,
53:25as a journalist as well,
53:26you get some kind of special access
53:27when you show your Indian identity card,
53:29and you tell them.
53:30And in terms of the strategic partnership,
53:32in terms of the defense collaboration,
53:34Absolutely.
53:35You know,
53:36I spoke to some of the young voters in the Knesset,
53:38the Israeli parliament,
53:39and they were,
53:40you know,
53:41they were making all kind of like,
53:43you know,
53:43they were appreciating,
53:44they did salute Captain Smith Machar,
53:47and he has become a popular figure in Israel.
53:50Oh, absolutely.
53:51So India-Israel relations remain strong.
53:54It's an election that's too close to call.
53:56When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says,
53:59Arab quarters are coming in large numbers to vote,
54:02or the left wing is coming out in large numbers to vote,
54:06does that not,
54:07does that indicate nervousness?
54:10This definitely indicates some kind of concern,
54:13some kind of nervousness,
54:15and in fact,
54:15he's trying to encourage his voters,
54:17because look,
54:18we have to factor in this thing,
54:20Gaurav,
54:20that he's the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel,
54:23and he is considered as,
54:25you know,
54:25magician of Israeli politics,
54:27because,
54:28you know,
54:29he is master of coalition,
54:30he has navigated the electoral politics of Israel,
54:33but if this time,
54:35he is giving this kind of call,
54:36this clearly shows that he has his own concern,
54:40regarding the voter turnout,
54:42and also he's encouraging his core voters,
54:44to come out in big numbers and vote in his support,
54:48or support of his coalition,
54:49because one thing is very clear,
54:52Gaurav,
54:53in this election,
54:53that it is a contest between right and far right,
54:57it is a contest,
54:57his election is revolving around the security of Israel,
55:02that who is going to ensure the safety and security of Israel,
55:05and no matter who rules Israel,
55:08but the policies are largely going to continue,
55:11in terms of operational matters.
55:14Keep tracking that story,
55:15I will come back to you for more.
55:17Prane Upadhyay is our man on ground zero,
55:19and we'll get to the latest developments in Israel,
55:22that not just the region,
55:24but the world is tracking closely.
55:26That is all I have for you on India First this evening.
55:28Many thanks for watching.
55:29News and updates continue on India Today.
55:31Stay close.
55:32...
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