Congress protests 'irregularities' in Assam draft roll after Special Revision
Guwahati (PTI): The Assam unit of the Congress on Tuesday staged a protest against the Election Commission and the BJP government over alleged irregularities found in the draft electoral rolls, published after a Special Revision (SR) of the voter lists.
Assam has registered a 1.35 per cent increase in voters as per the integrated draft electoral roll for the state, published on December 30 after Special Revision was conducted ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Guwahati city committee of Assam Congress organised a sit-in demonstration near the Secretariat complex here.
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"The irregularities in the voter list are being done to help the BJP return to power in Assam. The ECI is working for the BJP only. The vote thieves must step down from power. We condemn CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for attempting to return to power through vote theft," Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) General Secretary Pradyut Bhuyan told reporters.
Although police barricaded and cordoned off the Manavendra Sharma Complex, a building that houses an office of the opposition party, protesters eventually broke through the barricades and came out onto the road.
After shouting slogans and holding the protest for some time, they went inside the complex and concluded the agitation.
Responding to the protest, the CM said, "This is a draft roll, and usually some mistakes remain in the drafts. I don't think there will be any mistake in the final roll. In draft, we see overlapping of names or entering neighbours' names in the same address, but these all are usually rectified in the final list."
The final electoral roll will be published on February 10.
"I don't think there is any controversy. It is a huge task. Entering the names of two crore people is a mammoth job, and we should not doubt the intention of the officers. Let us give the officials a chance, and I believe all the flaws will be corrected in the final list," he added.
The draft roll reflected a total of 2,52,01,624 electors, representing a 1.35 per cent increase from the previous final roll published in January 2025.
A total of 7,86,841 additions and 4,47,196 deletions have taken place from January 6 to December 27 last year.
During the SR process, 4,78,992 deceased electors and 5,23,680 shifted electors were identified. Another 53,619 multiple entries were identified.
The Election Commission, however, said that these names have not yet been deleted. These will only be processed for removal or shifting after formal applications are received during the current claims and objections period.
Claims and objections can be filed from December 27 to January 22, with special campaign dates fixed for January 3-4 and January 10-11.
Assembly elections are likely to be held in March-April in Assam.
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
