Former K'taka CM Kumaraswamy calls Congress 'hypocrite' for boycotting opening of new Parliament
Bengaluru (PTI): JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday slammed the "hypocrite Congress" for boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
The Congress and some other political parties have decided to shun the inauguration of the building on May 28 saying that it should have been done by President Droupadi Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A day after former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda announced his decision to attend the inauguration, his son and the JD(S) second-in-command Kumaraswamy said the call given by Congress showed its double standard to advance its "trivial politics" to turn votes in its favour by "pleasing certain communities".
The JD(S) leader, however, clarified that the stand taken should not be perceived as his party's soft corner for the BJP.
Addressing reporters here, Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) had a detailed discussion on the topic and finally it was agreed upon that it will attend the inauguration on May 28.
The former chief minister said the Parliament building has not been built by a party but rather using the taxpayers money. However, Congress and a few other parties have decided to boycott the inauguration saying that it should be unveiled by the President, who belongs to the tribal community, he added.
Kumaraswamy reminded the Congress that the foundation stone of the Chhattisgarh Assembly building was laid by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and not the Governor.
"In Karnataka too, the foundation of the Vikasa Soudha was inaugurated by the then Congress Chief Minister (Dharam Singh) in 2005 and not the Governor (at the time). This is the doublespeak of Congress, which seeks to turn votes in its favour by raising trivial political issues to appease certain communities," Kumaraswamy said.
He also sought to know why the Congress had fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha against Murmu during the presidential election if it had so much respect for a tribal woman.
"If you truly had respect for a tribal woman, you should have elected her unopposed since it's a presidential election. Why did you field Yashwant Sinha? Now, you have developed respect for her! We can see through your hypocrisy behind the respect for President Murmu," Kumaraswamy said.
He also advised the Congress not to spoil its respectful position by indulging in petty politics.
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UP SIR: Over 84 lakh voters added in final list, total electorate rises to 13.39 crore
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh's electorate grew by over 84 lakh to 13.39 crore after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to the final voter list published on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at the Lok Bhawan Media Centre here, Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said the SIR exercise was conducted from October 27, 2025, to April 10, 2026, covering all 75 districts, 403 assembly constituencies and polling stations across the state.
He said the 166-day exercise was carried out with the contribution of 75 District Election Officers (DEOs), 403 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 12,758 Assistant EROs, 18,026 BLO supervisors and 1,77,516 Booth Level Officers (BLOs). In addition, 5,82,877 booth-level agents of recognised political parties and crores of voters extended cooperation.
Print, electronic and digital media also played a key role in awareness efforts, he added.
Rinwa said the draft electoral roll published on January 6, 2026, had a total of 12,55,56,025 voters, including 6.88 crore male voters, 5.67 crore female voters and 4,119 third gender voters.
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group stood at 3,33,981, while the gender ratio was 824 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
The final electoral roll published on April 10 shows the total number of voters at 13,39,84,792, he said.
Of these, male voters number 7,30,71,071 (around 54 per cent), female voters 6,09,09,525 (45.46 per cent) and third gender voters 4,206 (less than 0.01 per cent).
The number of voters in the 18-19 age group has risen to 17,63,360, accounting for 1.32 per cent of the total electorate. The gender ratio has also improved to 834 female voters per 1,000 male voters.
Comparing the draft and final rolls, Rinwa said the total increase in the number of voters is 84,28,767. This includes an increase of 42,27,902 male voters, 42,00,778 female voters and 87 third gender voters.
The 18-19 age group registered a rise of 14,29,379 voters, while the gender ratio improved by 10 points from 824 to 834, he said.
Among districts, Prayagraj recorded the highest increase in voters at 3,29,421, followed by Lucknow at 2,85,961, Bareilly at over 2,57,000, Ghaziabad at 2,43,666 and Jaunpur at 2,37,590.
The CEO said the successful completion of the revision exercise reflects coordinated efforts by election officials, political parties and voters across the state.
