Not hit by fuel prices as I am a minister: Ramdas Athawale

Agencies

September 16, 2018

Jaipur, Sept 16: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale candidly confessed Saturday that the increase in petrol and diesel prices did not bother him, thanks to the allowances he draws as a minister.

“I am not suffering from rising fuel prices as I am a minister,” he said, referring to the allowances he gets.

“I may suffer if I lose my ministerial post,” he continued, drawing laughter at a press conference here.

He had been asked if he was personally affected by the rising prices.

The minister acknowledged that others are affected more.

“It is understandable that people are suffering from rising fuel prices and it is the duty of the government to reduce them,” the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said.

He said the price of fuel can be reduced if the states cut the tax on it. The Centre is seriously working on the issue, he said.

Athawale reviewed progress of the schemes run in Rajasthan by his ministry.

He urged officials to disburse scholarship amounts to students from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other categories on time, deal with pending applications for inter-caste marriage and hold special camps to help the differently abled.

Athawala heads the Republican Party of India, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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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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