EC summons Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, his brother, for SIR hearing in Kolkata: Reports
Kolkata: Cricketer Mohammed Shami and his brother Mohammed Kaif were summoned by the Election Commission to appear for a hearing, part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that began on December 16, 2025, reported India Today.
Notices were issued on Monday from Kartju Nagar School in the Jadavpur area of south Kolkata, directing both to appear before the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO). However, Shami could not attend the scheduled hearing, as he is currently in Rajkot representing Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shami is a voter in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Ward No. 93 under the Rashbehari Assembly constituency. He has been a permanent resident of Kolkata for several years tough he belonged to Uttar Pradesh.
Quoting ECI sources, the report stated that the names of Shami and his brother appeared on the hearing list due to complications in their enumeration forms, including discrepancies related to progeny mapping and self-mapping. Shami’s hearing has now been scheduled between January 9 and 11.
This comes amid criticism of the SIR process by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who earlier wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar questioning the objectives and asking whether the “ECI was aware of the goal of SIR.”
She wrote, "Although the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no clearly defined, transparent, or uniformly applicable timelines. Different States are following different criteria, and timelines are being altered arbitrarily, reflecting a glaring lack of clarity, preparedness, and procedural understanding.”
She further alleged a lack of transparency, uniform timelines and clear communication, warning that errors or ambiguities could lead to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.
The final voter list for poll-bound West Bengal is slated to be published on February 14. More than 58 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls released in December as part of the SIR exercise.
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Constitution amendment bill defeat was BJP’s first embarrassment in Parliament: Margaret Alva
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Monday said that the constitution amendment bill's defeat in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was the first embarrassment faced by the BJP-led government in Parliament.
She also alleged that the BJP has no real concern regarding women’s reservation.
The opposition INDIA bloc defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, apart from making changes to delimitation.
"This is the first embarrassment and defeat faced by the NDA government in the Lok Sabha," the former Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan said in a press conference here.
According to her, the women’s reservation has been under discussion since the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, a 14-member committee was formed, and I was appointed as its chairperson. We prepared a report after studying what needed to be done to enhance the dignity of women across 12 sectors. This was submitted to the government in 1989,” Alva, 84-year-old veteran Congress leader, said.
She said political empowerment for women was emphasised in that report, without which, empowerment in any other sphere is not possible.
“Many people in Parliament used to question me — should we vacate seats for women and stay at home cooking? Why insist on this? Has anyone written these seats in your name? This debate has been ongoing since 1975,” Alva explained.
The Congress leader said Rajiv Gandhi had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.
“At that time, all opposition parties united and defeated the Bill,” she pointed out.
Again, during the tenure of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, the 33 per cent reservation Bill in local bodies was passed.
“It was the Congress party that first introduced women’s reservation. Now they are falsely accusing us of being anti-women,” Alva charged.
In 2023, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed with much fanfare, but it was not immediately implemented.
According to her, a condition was imposed for its implementation that it would be enforced based on census data.
"Once it is in the statute book, what is preventing its implementation? Two years for the census and another two years for delimitation — this means it cannot be implemented by 2029. It was not given in 2024, and there is no possibility even in 2029," Alva charged the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The Congress leader said the BJP is saying that the Bill can be implemented based on the 2011 Census, but when the same suggestion was made in 2023, the BJP rejected it.
On increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent, she sought to know the basis for it.
“Where did this (idea) come from? Whose advice was taken? Was it decided by the RSS? Or ordered by a court?” Alva asked.
The former union minister said the Constitution amendment bill, which was defeated on April 17 appears to favour certain North Indian states.
“We pay taxes, but they receive greater benefits and allocations. If seats are increased by 50 per cent based on their calculations, we would get only 14 additional seats, while they would get 40. How is this fair?” she questioned.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to "operationalise" the women's reservation act before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory Assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
