00:00The Election Commission appears to be acting on several concerns
00:04flagged from within the poll panel itself,
00:07with a series of changes to its functioning and the ongoing SIR process.
00:11But the political battle over voter rolls is now only widening.
00:15The Home Minister has once again challenged Rahul Gandhi to a debate in Parliament,
00:19while a fresh row has erupted over Union Minister Lalan Singh's claim
00:23that voter IDs could very well replace Adhars for welfare benefits.
00:27The opposition questioned the implications,
00:30raising larger questions over the purpose of SIR.
00:42The Election Commission under fire over SIR is on a course correction path.
00:47After Indian Express investigation revealed the rift between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
00:53and the two Election Commissioners, Sugbhi Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi,
00:57the poll panel has moved on several of the concerns flagged.
01:01The EC, in its latest move, has removed the SIR declaration from online Form 6 in all states,
01:08including those where the SIR is still going on.
01:11The declaration was called illegal by Sandhu and Joshi in their file notes.
01:15The SIR declaration will now be separate from Form 6.
01:19Now on, the EC will circulate agendas ahead of meetings, which was not the case earlier.
01:25Officers working in the Commission now need approval for foreign trips.
01:29Director-General IT Seema Khanna will report to Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma.
01:35This decision overrides the July order that removed oversight.
01:39And new IT modules will go to a committee and then the Commission for approvals.
01:45The political war over SIR is expanding.
01:49Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is holding a series of padhyatras across the country on Thursday,
01:54challenged Rahul Gandhi to a debate on voter list revision in Parliament.
02:25He accused the leader of opposition of trying to save three groves,
02:28for alleged illegal immigrants.
02:31Rahul Ji!
03:00Amish Shah's attacks come
03:02after the leader of opposition posted videos
03:04daring the Prime Minister to a public debate.
03:49Adhaar
03:50Adding fuel to the already raging fire,
03:52Union Minister Leland Singh has been claiming
03:54the Narendra Modi government will replace
03:56Adhaar with voter ID card
03:58as the document for welfare schemes.
04:01Adhaar
04:03Laabharatiyon ko bhukhtan karne ka joh adhaar hai
04:06wo adhaar card nahi rahe ga.
04:08Jovi beneficiary hain unke bhukhtan ke liye
04:11biometric aur epic number
04:15unka joh voter ID ka epic number hai
04:18wo uska adhaar hooga
04:20aur usi ke adhaar per unka bhukhtan hooga.
04:23Congress leader Jayram Ramesh has slammed the government
04:26saying that making voter ID the basis will exclude
04:30beneficiaries on a massive scale.
04:32He accused the Modi government of not just stealing votes
04:35but also stealing citizens' rights.
04:38Leland Singh's assertion about replacing Adhaar
04:40has added one more dimension to the political war over SIR.
04:44What was the real purpose of voter list revision?
04:47Was it to clean up electoral rolls
04:49or decide citizenship
04:51or to revamp welfare schemes?
04:54Vira Report, India Today.
