BJP urges EC to verify identity of burqa-clad voters during Bihar polls, RJD calls it political ploy
Patna (PTI): The BJP on Saturday urged the Election Commission to hold the upcoming Bihar assembly elections in one or two phases, and to ensure that women in burqas are properly verified against their voter ID photographs at the polling booths.
The BJP found itself on the same page as the RJD, its principal rival, on the issue of non-staggered elections, but got charged with "political conspiracy" for raising the issue of female voters wearing veils.
After a meeting with the visiting EC team, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said, "We have urged the Election Commission to conduct the elections in one or two phases. The election process need not be staggered. Also, tallying of faces of voters, especially burqa-clad women, must be ensured with respective EPIC cards so that only genuine voters get to exercise their franchise."
The EC, which is on a two-day tour of the state, held talks with representatives of recognised political parties ahead of the announcement of election dates.
The RJD delegation was headed by Abhay Kushwaha, the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, who was accompanied by spokespersons Chitaranjan Gagan and Mukund Singh.
When Kushwaha's attention was drawn to Jaiswal's contention on burqas, he snapped, "This is a political conspiracy. Only recently has the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls been carried out. New EPIC cards are to be issued to all voters with fresh photographs. Identification of voters is no big deal. But the BJP wants to push its own agenda".
The RJD leader, however, disclosed that, like the BJP, "we urged the EC to consider holding the polls in not more than two phases, since not much time is left (for expiry of the term of the current assembly)”.
It was also the RJD’s contention that the polls be held after Chhath, the state's most popular festival, held six days after Diwali, which falls at the end of October this year.
Jaiswal, too, had said that the BJP delegation urged the EC to ensure "no further delay in polling dates than the mandatory 28-day gap between the date of announcement of elections and the day on which voting begins. So, if elections are announced in a few days from now, polling should begin November 3-4 onwards".
Smaller parties like Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and INDIA bloc partner CPI(ML) Liberation also told the Election Commission that they were in favour of assembly polls being held in "not more than two phases".
Both the BJP and the RJD acknowledged that there were a large number of villages in Bihar, with a sizeable population of weaker sections who were "intimidated" during polls.
Jaiswal was of the view that "paramilitary forces be deployed in villages with a heavy population of weaker sections like extremely backward classes, a few days in advance, and a flag march-like exercise be conducted to instil confidence among the voters".
He said that in riverine areas, which have had a history of booth capturing, deployment of cavalry must also be ensured.
On the other hand, Kushwaha sought from the EC "identification, at the earliest, of all sensitive booths and the list be shared with us so that we could circulate the same among our cadres in order to prevent intimidation of voters from the weaker sections"
He said the EC also had a few suggestions for political parties.
"It said that upon completion of voting, polling agents must obtain Form 17C from the presiding officer. Many times, the agents leave their assigned booths without doing so, leaving the scope for unnecessary disputes later," he added.
However, the RJD MP asserted that even if polling agents of a party leave the booth before completion of voting, Form 17C remains available with presiding officers in computerised form.
"It must be ensured that printouts of these are provided to all candidates," he said.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to “help” the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
The RJD delegation also requested the poll panel to restrain the Nitish Kumar government from coming up with populist announcements "without any budgetary allocation" and "put an effective check on personal attacks and abuses hurled at rivals by political figures during the campaign".
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Rupee falls 11 paise to 94.27 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 11 paise to 94.27 against US dollar in early trade on Monday driven by persistent dollar demand and a broader shift toward safe-haven assets.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee has hit a rough patch, falling for five consecutive sessions, weighed down by a combination of factors such as the RBI loosening its grip on currency rules and rising oil prices caused by global tensions.
Moreover, investors are becoming cautious again, with foreign institutions pulling money out of the market after a brief period of buying amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched 94.27 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 11 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 94.16 against the American currency.
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Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.09 per cent at 98.44.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.16 per cent at USD 106.55 per barrel in futures trade.
A mix of softer economic signals and renewed, even if fragile, hopes of diplomacy pulled the dollar lower again, CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that for Rupee, on one hand, a softer dollar offers relief. On the other, uncertainty remains the dominant force.
Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves have crossed USD 703 billion as of April 17, reflecting a consistent build-up of buffers.
"For now, the rupee continues to lean toward gradual weakness. Uncertainty remains the dominant force, shaping both global flows and local reactions," Pabari said.
He further noted that any dips are likely to be bought into, with the 92.80–93.20 zone acting as a strong support. On the upside, 93.50 to 94.50 is expected to define the near-term range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 518.96 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 77,183.17, while the broader Nifty was trading up 131.30 points or 0.55 per cent at 24,029.25.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 8,827.87 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
