SIR is 'Software Intensive Rigging', alleges TMC
New Delhi (PTI): The Trinamool Congress (TMC) said on Tuesday that the SIR exercise in West Bengal is "Software Intensive Rigging", as the ruling party in the state stressed the need for more "transparency' in the ongoing process for electoral-roll revision.
Addressing a press conference here, TMC's leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien, deputy leader Sagarika Ghose and MP Saket Gokhale demanded that the Election Commission (EC) release the transcripts of the discussions held at recent meetings between a party delegation and the full bench of the poll panel.
The press meet came a day after the Supreme Court directed the EC to display the names of the voters on the "logical discrepancies" list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices.
"What does SIR actually stand for? Software Intensive Rigging.... The EC is one of the great institutions of our country, which has kept democracy vibrant for so many decades, but what has been happening now is a dismantling of this great institution," O'Brien said at the press conference.
"All we seek from the All India Trinamool Congress is transparency.... Our chairperson has said it. Our national general secretary has said it. We are for SIR, but we are for a transparent SIR, a planned SIR.... A humane SIR," he said.
O'Brien said during their meetings with the EC on November 28 and December 31 last year, the TMC leaders made several "constructive suggestions" for making the SIR process smoother. He challenged the poll panel to come out with the transcripts of the meetings.
"Release the transcripts.... It has been 50 days. So do not push our patience. Because if you do not release those transcripts, we will release those transcripts," the TMC MP said.
Targeting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, he pointed out that prior to his appointment to the EC, he retired as the secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation under Home Minister Amit Shah, who is also the minister of cooperation.
O'Brien asserted that it is not "Trinamool versus somebody else", but "the people of Bengal versus those who are trying to make the electoral process burdensome on the electors".
Ghose pointed out that the apex court has directed the poll panel to work with transparency and said, "The Election Commission should not work with political interests."
It is the constitutional duty of the EC to protect the right of the citizen to vote, she added.
Ghose said the list of discrepancies and the hearings have led people to go through harrowing times, running from pillar to post to protect their right to vote.
"We are saying that the EC should not change the Special Intensive Revision to software-intensive rigging. And as the Supreme Court has instructed, the EC should work with transparency," she said.
Referring to letters written by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to the CEC, O'Brien said, "What did the postscript say?... It said we know that you will not reply to these letters. Who is writing these letters? A three-time chief minister of a state who is about to become a four-time chief minister."
One of Banerjee's letters to the CEC on the SIR issue contained a handwritten note, saying she did not expect a reply from Kumar.
"When we say transparency, this is not just a clever term which we have used in the morning. Software-intensive rigging. No. What software is the EC using? Why is it being revised constantly? We asked who makes this software? Come, tell us," O'Brien said.
The Supreme Court said on Monday that the SIR process in West Bengal should be transparent and not cause inconvenience to people, and directed the EC to display the names of those on the "logical discrepancies" list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, where documents and objections will also be submitted.
Logical discrepancies in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list include instances, such as a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and his parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.
In his plea before the apex court, O'Brien has alleged arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state.
Another plea moved by TMC MP Dola Sen contends that the SIR orders are arbitrary, unconstitutional and will lead to invalid deletion of genuine voters.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
