'Script and dialogue' of Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' campaign came from abroad, alleges BJP
New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI): The BJP on Thursday claimed that the "script and dialogue" of Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" campaign came from abroad and accused the Congress leader of carrying forward a foreign agenda of interfering with the country's democracy.
The ruling party claimed that "undeniable evidence" has emerged showing that the power-point presentation Gandhi made recently to level "vote chori" (vote theft) charge against it and the Election Commission came from a foreign land.
There was no immediate response from the Congress or Gandhi to the BJP’s charge.
In a post on X, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, "On 7th Aug 2025, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference shouting about 'vote theft' and uploaded PDFs on http://RahulGandhi.in in English, Hindi and Kannada. Investigation uncovers shocking facts. Metadata of all 3 PDFs shows Myanmar timezone."
"These so-called 'evidence' (of vote chori) weren't made in India. They were created on a system set to the Myanmar timezone," he said, adding, "Rahul Gandhi's International 'Vote Theft Toolkit' busted."
Another BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Everybody knows that Rahul Gandhi has more faith in foreign land and foreigners (than India), but nobody would have ever thought that the script of his drama and dialogues on (vote theft charge) was being written and sent from outside India."
He said the "technical proof" which shows that the Congress leader's power-point presentation on the alleged vote theft was made in a foreign land is "undeniable", he said.
Gandhi is pushing a foreign agenda of interfering with India's democracy through his "vote chori" campaign, Poonawalla charged.
"Aren't you carrying forward the agenda of 'interfere with Bharat's democracy' playing at some foreign hands like a puppet?" he asked Gandhi, demanding that he disclose who is writing his "scripts" from abroad.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
