EC to intensify scrutiny of founding members of outfits seeking registration as political parties
New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission has stepped up scrutiny of the founders of the registered unrecognised political parties after several such outfits were found to be inactive or defunct.
In August, the Commission had de-listed 334 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) as part of its ongoing exercise of cleaning up the electoral system, officials said.
"Now, to ensure that applicants seeking registration of their associations as a political party under Section 29A are thoroughly verified at the stage of registration itself, ECI has issued instructions for an intensified scrutiny of the founding members," the Commission said.
In the first round of the exercise to clean up the electoral system, the Commission has already delisted 334 RUPPs on August 9, 2025, bringing down the number of listed RUPPs from 2,854 to 2,520.
In the second round of the exercise in August 2025, ECI had identified another 476 RUPPS and directed the CEOs of States and UTs to conduct verification enquiries against these political parties.
The Commission said in some recent cases, applicants had submitted manipulated and/or false affidavits in an attempt to secure registration under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act.
To remove such dubious applicants and to ensure that only genuine applicants get considered for registration, the EC has decided that verification of at least 20 randomly selected individual affidavits of the founding members shall be carried out, the Commission said.
As the members could be from different districts/states, the CEO(s) concerned would carry out the verifications through the respective DEOS, the Commission said.
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Uttarakhand Assembly passes censure motion against opposition over women's reservation bill
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a censure motion against the Congress and other opposition parties on Tuesday for allegedly blocking the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The motion, which expressed the House's formal disapproval of the opposition's conduct, triggered a massive uproar by Congress members, leading to the adjournment of the House sine die.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal moved the censure motion, citing the "uncooperative attitude" of opposition parties toward the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Addressing a special daylong session convened specifically to discuss "Nari Samman -- Rights in Democracy", Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the bill's passage would have benefitted every political party.
Dhami noted that after delimitation, the number of Assembly seats in the hill state would have gone up to 105, with 35 reserved for women. He added that the number of Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand would have risen from five to seven or eight.
"The opposition fears that if women from ordinary households enter politics, the shops of dynastic politics run by certain parties will shut down," the chief minister claimed.
He compared the opposition's conduct in Parliament to the assembly in Mahabharat where Draupadi was insulted. Dhami further likened the opposition's behaviour to the "arrogance of Ravan".
The chief minister highlighted his government's initiatives, asserting that Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect women's rights. He said the UCC freed Muslim women from practices like "halala", "iddat", polygamy and child marriage.
Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya questioned the technical feasibility of the bill, calling the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of providing reservation by 2029 "misleading".
He argued that the bill is linked to census and delimitation processes. The Congress leader said the 2026 census would conclude by 2027 and the final data publication would take two more years.
"The delimitation process will take another six years. The actual implementation of this bill is not possible before 2034," Arya said, describing the move as a strategy to protect the BJP's "political ground".
The session also saw high drama outside the Assembly gates, where Congress MLA Virendra Jati staged a protest, demanding the payment of "outstanding" dues to farmers by sugar mills.
Jati arrived at the Assembly's main gate with a tractor-trolley loaded with sugarcane and dumped it on the road. The move brought the traffic to a halt, prompting traffic and security personnel to intervene and clear the area.
Women Congress workers also staged a demonstration against the "anti-people policies" of the state government.
