Kumar Kanhaiya reaches JNU; celebrations on the campus

March 3, 2016

New Delhi, Mar 3: JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar reached the Jawaharlal Nehru University premises today hours after being released from Tihar jail where he was lodged on the charge of sedition, triggering celebrations on the campus that had lately become a venue for vociferous protests.

Students and teachers eagerly awaiting to catch a glimpse of Kanhaiya had gathered at the Ganga Dhaba from where they will take out a victory march to the Administration Block which has become a venue of protest since his arrest on February 12.

People also queued up outside Kumar's hostel Brahmaputra with 'dhols' and 'daflis' to accompany him during the march.

Meanwhile, two separate meetings of the students union and JNU teachers association were underway to decide the future course of action. Kanhaiya is expected to address the gathering after the march.

However, the university administration maintained the report of the high-level committee has not been submitted to it yet.

"The five-member panel had a deadline till 12 am today. The varsity will take a call based on the recommendations of the panel," a senior JNU official said.

After Kanhaiya was granted interim bail yesterday by the Delhi High Court, celebrations had broken out outside Parliament Street Police Station where students had been camping.

Shouting "victory" slogans for Kanhaiya, students later marched from Sabarmati Dhaba, during the night hours.

The JNUSU president was arrested in connection with an event on the campus during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

Five other students -- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rama Naga, Anant Prakash and Ashutosh Kumar -- had gone in hiding since then but resurfaced on the campus 10 days later.

While Umar and Anirban surrendered before the police, the remaining three refused to do so but maintained that they are open to questioning by police as and when needed.

Kanhaiya was granted interim bail for six months by the Delhi High Court.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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