No Clean Chit to Modi Government On Rafale From Court: Sitaram Yechury

Agencies

December 23, 2018

Samastipur, Dec 23: Senior CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday asserted that no clean chit has been given to the Narendra Modi government in the Rafale deal by the Supreme Court, which has "merely stated" that it did not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.

The former Rajya Sabha member said the Opposition has, therefore, been seeking a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee, but the government appears to be wary of the same.

"There is no clean chit. It is a misleading propaganda by the BJP. The Supreme Court has merely said that a scam of this nature did not fall within its jurisdiction and hence, it could not entertain the petitions."

"And, that is exactly the reason why we and other Opposition parties have been demanding the JPC. If the Modi government has nothing to hide, it should not be afraid of agreeing to this demand," Mr Yechury, who was here to address a rally, told reporters.

The CPI(M) general secretary rubbished doubts raised over whether a coalition of Opposition parties could take on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying people used to say similar things in 2004.

"People used to ask who after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But, the BJP lost power despite his leadership and its 'India Shining' campaign and Manmohan Singh went on to become the only Prime Minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to have remained in office for two consecutive terms," he said.

"The nation is outraged over the BJP's brazenly communal politics, its tinkering with institutions and its policies, which have led to soaring unemployment, even as those defaulting on huge loans taken from public sector banks have been allowed to flee the country," Mr Yechury alleged.

The combined Opposition, he said, represents the voice of the people dissatisfied with the regime.

The "winds of change" are evident as NDA's allies, one after another, have started walking out of the BJP-led coalition, the CPI(M) politburo member said.

Mr Yechury's remark came in the wake of the recent exit from the NDA of former Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha, who has joined the Congress-led UPA.

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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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