BJP using SIR to cut electorate in opposition-ruled states, claims Yogendra Yadav
Kolkata (PTI): Eminent psephologist and activist Yogendra Yadav on Sunday reiterated that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and West Bengal was just a test before a larger rollout.
Addressing a meeting at the Bharat Sabha Hall here, Yadav claimed that the BJP would leave no stone unturned to win the 2026 Bengal polls and was using the SIR process as a tool to reduce the number of electors.
"From the outset, I have said SIR is targeted at Bengal. As Bihar elections were only a few months away, the EC used the state as the testing ground to implement SIR. Now the BJP wants to go the whole hog in Bengal," he said in Hindi.
Yadav alleged that after failing to make a dent in opposition-ruled states like West Bengal in the past, the BJP was now hell-bent on using SIR as a last resort to reduce the electorate in such states.
He described the SIR exercise in Bengal as "the highest disenfranchisement ever" undertaken in the country.
"SIR is a votebandi exercise aimed at undermining and disenfranchising India’s adult voters who had cast their ballots in previous elections by benchmarking the 2002 year as a timeline for enrolling as legitimate voters," he said.
Referring to the claim by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari that one crore voters may be omitted after the SIR, Yadav said, "Even if not the world, West Bengal will witness the largest ever disenfranchisement in India."
Questioning the criteria behind selecting states for SIR, Yadav said if the EC was concerned about infiltrators settling in the country after crossing the border, “why did they leave out Assam as the first state? Because Assam is not ruled by an opposition government?”
On October 27, the EC announced SIR in West Bengal and eight other states and three Union Territories, while the exercise had already been completed in Bihar.
Yadav reiterated that the current SIR was not a rerun of the 2002 exercise, asserting that in that year, people neither had to fill forms nor provide documents to booth-level officers as they are being asked to do now.
On Saturday, Yadav claimed that it is not for the BJP to define as to who is an infiltrator and who is a refugee.
"It is for the law and the courts to decide who is an infiltrator and who is a refugee," he said.
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Armed man shot and killed after entering secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, US Secret Service says
Washington (AP): The US Secret Service announced Sunday that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during this incident. First lady Melania Trump was also with the president.
The name of the person who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was “observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.” The incident took place at 1:30 am Sunday.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw, speaking at a brief press conference, said the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position," Bradshaw said. The two agents and the deputy "fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The FBI asked residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
The suspect, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, was reported missing a few days ago by his family. Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, who added that the box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle.
Guglielmi said that the man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting.
Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and a motive is still under investigation. Asked whether the individual was known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”
The incident comes as the US has been rocked multiple times in recent years by political violence. Just last year, that included the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife, and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro.
The incursion on Saturday at Trump's Florida home is a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf during the 2024 election. A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally in 2024. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Sunday.
