Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, in New Delhi, on May 22, 2026. Photo: X/@PMOIndia via PTI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. File
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (January 9, 2026) announced a crackdown on narcotics from March 31 with a three-year nationwide campaign to weed out the drug menace from the country.

Addressing the 9th Apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD), Mr. Shah said that as part of the collective campaign, a working methodology for all pillars against drug abuse will be defined, targets will be set, and time-bound reviews will be conducted.

According to the date announced by the Home Minister, the campaign against drugs will be launched immediately after the deadline set by him to wipe out Naxalism ends on March 31.

Mr. Shah also virtually inaugurated a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Amritsar on the occasion.

The meeting, organised in hybrid mode by the NCB, was attended by key stakeholders from Central ministries and departments, representatives from State governments, as well as drug law enforcement agencies, according to a government statement.

Mr. Shah directed all the departments to prepare a roadmap by March 31 to deal with the drug problem, establish a monitoring mechanism, and focus completely on it, so that a comprehensive solution can be found.

“In the next three years, we have to fight on all fronts against drugs across the country and make India ‘drug-free’, and make every effort to protect the country’s youth from drugs,” Mr. Shah said.

“Only continuous awareness can keep us safe,” Mr. Shah said, and asserted that the government wants to create a permanent system capable of fighting this battle against drugs.

The Home Minister said the government’s policy is clear that no compassion should be shown to those who manufacture or sell narcotics.

“We should move forward with a humanitarian approach towards the victims of drugs,” he said.

In the fight against drugs, all departments of the Central government should prepare a roadmap up to 2029 and establish a time-bound review mechanism for its implementation, he said.

Mr. Shah also appealed to all the DGPs to prepare a roadmap for their respective States and take concrete steps for the timely destruction of drugs.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the goal of making India number one in the world in every field by 2047, when the centenary of Independence is celebrated. To create such an India, it is the responsibility of all of us to provide complete protection to the young generation from drugs,” the Home Minister said.

He also said that the challenge is linked more to the issue of narco-terror than to law and order, and most importantly, it is a conspiracy to ruin the coming generations of the country.

The health of the youth, their ability to think and perform, and the growing discontent in society are all linked to this problem, he said.

Under Prime Minister Modi, considerable success has been achieved in the past 11 years in the fight against drugs, and after the reorganisation of NCORD in 2019, “we have also ensured the path to complete control over this problem”, Mr. Shah said.

“Now we have gained speed and will move forward with a three-pronged plan of action,” he said.

Only a “collective ruthless approach” towards the drug supply chain, a strategic approach towards demand reduction, and a humane approach towards harm reduction will achieve the goal of a drug-free India, he said.

“We must proceed in this fight only by strengthening command, compliance and accountability,” the Home Minister said.

He added that instead of the number of meetings, their outcomes should be reviewed, with strict action taken against the kingpins of the drug trade, financiers, and logistics routes as subjects of such assessments.

The Minister also said that the utilisation of forensic science laboratories (FSLs) and increasing the rate of timely filing of chargesheets and securing convictions should be included in the targets.

A top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach is extremely essential for investigating the entire drug network, he said.

From 2004 to 2013, drugs weighing 26 lakh kg worth ₹40,000 crore were seized, whereas from 2014 to 2025, 1.11 lakh kg of drugs worth ₹1.71 lakh crore were seized, marking an 11-fold increase, Mr. Shah said.

In 2020, opium crop on 10,770 acres of land was destroyed, and by November 2025, crops on 40,000 acres of land were destroyed, he added.

“The NCORD mechanism has a four-tier structure with an apex-level NCORD committee, which is headed by the Union home secretary; an executive-level NCORD committee headed by the special secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; state-level NCORD committees headed by chief secretaries; and district-level NCORD committees headed by district magistrates,” the statement said.

The mechanism was established in 2016 to enhance coordination between the states, the Ministry of Home Affairs and concerned stakeholders in addressing the challenge of drug menace holistically, it said.

Published – January 10, 2026 08:47 am IST

New Delhi:

Gyanesh Kumar, who was named as an Election Commissioner last year, has been appointed the next Chief Election Commissioner of India, replacing the outgoing Rajiv Kumar. Mr Kumar will oversee the conduct of the Bihar Assembly election later this year and the polls in Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu next year. He took charge as the new poll chief this morning.

Mr Kumar’s appointment came in a late-night development on Monday, within hours after a meeting of a three-member panel consisting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi. However, it has sparked a row as Mr Gandhi did not approve of the appointment.

Row on Gyanesh Kumar’s appointment explained

The appointment of Mr Kumar as the poll chief was done based on the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners (ECs) under the 2023 law. According to these rules, the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of PM Modi as the Chairperson, a cabinet minister nominated by the PM – Amit Shah, and the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha.

However, the law was challenged in the Supreme Court as the three-member panel allowed the Centre a dominant role.

The top court was set to take up a hearing on a “priority basis” on February 19.

Due to this, Mr Gandhi, who was present in the meeting, had opposed Mr Kumar’s appointment and asked the government to postpone it. However, the Centre planned to press on regardless, saying that halting the process would mean leaving the key post vacant.

After Mr Kumar’s appointment, the Congress leader gave a dissent note saying the meeting was meaningless as the new law has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

“During the meeting of the committee to select the next (Chief) Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM that stated: ‘The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission… free from executive interference… is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner. By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process,” Mr Gandhi wrote in a post on X.

He added, “As the LoP, it is my duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of our nation and hold the government to account. It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours.”

Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale also took a dig at the Centre, calling Mr Shah “India’s new Chief Election Commissioner”.

“Congratulations to Sh Amit Shah on becoming India’s new Chief Election Commissioner. The nation is confident that under your able leadership, the goal of reducing ECI to a wing of BJP will be successfully achieved,” he said, adding that the BJP would not succeed in West Bengal despite the appointment.

Who is Gyanesh Kumar

Mr Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. He is the senior of the two commissioners on the three-member panel that was led by Rajiv Kumar till he demitted office. The other commissioner on the panel is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, an officer from the Uttarakhand cadre.

The new Chief Election Commissioner was a part of the Union Home Ministry earlier and had helped draft the bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and split the former state into two union territories.

He has also served as the Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) and the Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry.

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on the implementation of three new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir, in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The meeting reviewed the implementation and present status of various new provisions related to police, prisons, courts, prosecution, and forensics in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and other senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the UT administration.

During the discussion in the meeting, Home Minister Shah asked the UT administration to ensure full implementation of the three new criminal laws, made under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Jammu and Kashmir by April 2025. He said that optimum use of technology should be made to ensure speedy justice under the three new criminal laws.

The Home Minister said that for the full implementation of the new laws, it is imperative to change the attitude of the police personnel and the administration and create awareness about the new laws among the citizens.

He stated that with a decline in terror activities and improvement in security scenarios in Jammu and Kashmir, the police should now prioritise safeguarding the rights of its citizens. HM Shah added that there is an urgent need to use the provision of Trial in Absentia in the union territory.

The Home Minister stressed the need to fix the responsibility of police officers to expedite the process of filing chargesheets. He said that every police station in Jammu and Kashmir should put the maximum use of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) into practice.

He said that 100 per cent training of investigating officers regarding the provisions of the new laws should be ensured, at the earliest. HM Shah said that decisions on provisions related to terrorism and organised crime should be taken only after thorough scrutiny at the level of the Superintendent of Police. He added that strict monitoring is required to ensure that these provisions under the new laws are not misused.

The Home Minister said that the Jammu and Kashmir administration and government have done satisfactory work towards the implementation of the new criminal laws despite difficult circumstances. He said that the progress of implementation of the three new laws in Jammu and Kashmir should be reviewed on a monthly, fortnightly and weekly basis at the level of the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, respectively.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who attended the meeting, later said that some weak areas were pointed out as needing immediate attention.

He said in a Union Territory the elected government is not responsible for implementing the law but indicated that it might play a role in raising awareness about the new law.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Haldwani:

The closing ceremony of the 38th National Games was held at the International Sports Stadium, Golapar, Haldwani, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday.

Mr Dhami welcomed Amit Shah with a memento, a shawl and a bouquet of flowers.

#WATCH | Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami felicitates Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the closing ceremony of the 38th National Games in Haldwani pic.twitter.com/ksVWowMAlW

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2025

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha officially declared the conclusion of the 38th National Games. On this occasion, the Union Home Minister honored the top three teams–Services, Maharashtra, and Haryana.

Amit Shah saluted the deities of Uttarakhand’s four holy shrines and stated that Chief Minister Dhami has successfully developed sports infrastructure in every district of the state. He acknowledged that under Dhami’s leadership, Uttarakhand has risen from the 25th to the seventh position on the national sports map. The state’s winning athletes have transformed the land of gods into a land of sports. Amit Shah congratulated all the victorious athletes from Uttarakhand and wished them a bright future, as per a press release from the state government.

Further,as per the statement, praising the organising committee and sports bodies of Uttarakhand, Amit Shah said that the state has been widely appreciated across the country for its exceptional arrangements for the National Games. Despite geographical challenges, Uttarakhand successfully hosted the event under the leadership of CM Dhami. He emphasized that winning and losing are secondary in sports; the real message is to cultivate the spirit of victory and resilience after defeat. He encouraged the athletes who couldn’t win this time to strive for medals in the future.

According to the release, Amit Shah also noted that under CM Dhami’s leadership, the 38th National Games implemented eco-friendly practices. Trees were planted in honor of the athletes, and several national records were set during the event, raising hopes for India’s success in international competitions. He announced that the National Games torch would now pass from Uttarakhand to Meghalaya, where CM Conrad Sangma plans to hold sporting events across Northeast states to promote the region in sports. Shah extended his best wishes to Meghalaya for the upcoming National Games.

Amit Shah credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fostering a positive sporting environment in India. He highlighted the government’s efforts in developing sports infrastructure, providing coaching, and ensuring a transparent selection process, which has enhanced India’s global sports reputation. He affirmed that India’s sporting future is bright and that new records will be set continuously. Under the “Fit India” and “Khelo India” initiatives, PM Modi has encouraged youth to actively participate in sports, teaching them resilience and determination.

Amit Shah also underlined that success in sports comes not just from physical ability but also from determination and perseverance. Athletes can achieve their goals through relentless effort. He mentioned that PM Modi has taken significant steps to promote youth in sports, leading athletes to regard him as their “sports companion.” He noted that India’s sports budget has increased from Rs 800 crores in 2014 to Rs 3,800 crores for 2025-26, enabling better sports infrastructure and fostering a hunger for victory.

Amit Shah highlighted that the successful hosting of the National Games in Uttarakhand, a small hilly state, demonstrates India’s readiness for large-scale sporting events. He expressed confidence that India is prepared to host the 2036 Olympics, and Uttarakhand’s athletes will make the country proud by winning medals.

Paying tribute to former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and the martyrs of the Pulwama attack, Amit Shah stated that their sacrifices have strengthened national security. He recalled how, under PM Modi’s leadership, India responded decisively with an airstrike on Pakistan, altering the world’s perception of India and sending a strong message to adversaries.

CM Dhami remarked that Uttarakhand received PM Modi’s blessings at the inauguration of the National Games, and now, at the closing ceremony, they were honored by the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He expressed pride in Uttarakhand hosting the National Games for the first time in its silver jubilee year. Over 16,000 athletes participated in 35 sports disciplines, winning a total of 448 gold, 448 silver, and 594 bronze medals. Several national records were set, and many emerging champions showcased their potential for future international competitions.

For the first time, traditional sports like yoga and Mallakhamb were included in the National Games. Additionally, a world record was set by organising a nighttime river rafting competition.

CM Dhami highlighted that the National Games in Uttarakhand were themed as “Green Games,” promoting minimal plastic use and utilizing solar energy. The medals were made from e-waste, and sports kits were crafted from recycled materials. Electric vehicles were used for transportation, and a 2.77-hectare “Sports Forest” was established, where Rudraksha trees were planted in the name of medal-winning athletes.

The competitions were held across both urban and remote areas, including Dehradun, Haridwar, Rudrapur, Haldwani, Rishikesh, Almora, Pithoragarh, and Tehri. Even a small town like Chakarpur hosted a major event. Water sports were conducted in high-altitude lakes and rivers of Uttarakhand. Instead of temporary arrangements, permanent sports infrastructure was developed at various locations.

CM Dhami proudly announced that Uttarakhand won a record 103 medals, including 24 golds, at the National Games. He expressed confidence that this achievement would inspire young athletes. He assured that Uttarakhand followed the ancient tradition of “Atithi Devo Bhava” (Guests are God) by ensuring the comfort and convenience of visiting athletes and support staff, hoping they would return with their families to experience the state’s natural beauty.

He noted that the closing of the National Games is not an end but a new beginning of opportunities, aspirations, and commitments. CM Dhami thanked PM Modi and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for entrusting Uttarakhand with the responsibility of hosting the National Games. He also expressed gratitude to the Indian Olympic Association, Uttarakhand Olympic Association, the sports department, and all volunteers for their contributions. He extended best wishes to Meghalaya for the successful hosting of the 39th National Games.

Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated CM Dhami for the successful organization of the 38th National Games, declaring that Uttarakhand is now a “sports land” in addition to being the “land of gods.” He also congratulated all medal-winning athletes, stating that India is on the path to becoming a global sports hub.

Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha praised Uttarakhand for hosting the event efficiently despite limited preparation time. She acknowledged CM Dhami’s efforts in enhancing sports facilities and support for athletes.

State Sports Minister Rekha Arya commended the athletes for embodying the “resolve to excellence” spirit, making Uttarakhand proud. She acknowledged the people’s support in making the National Games a grand success.

The event was attended by Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta, Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt, and MP Ajay Bhatt.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A High-Level Committee (HLC), chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved Rs 3,027.86 crore for disaster mitigation projects across various states.

The committee, which includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog as members, reviewed proposals for mitigation projects related to lightning safety in 50 lightning-prone districts across 10 states, as well as catalytic assistance for 49 drought-prone districts in 12 states, all to be funded from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), according to an official statement.

The committee approved a project for catalytic assistance to the 12 most drought-prone states at a total cost of Rs 2,022.16 crore, with the central share being Rs 1,200 crore.

The 12 states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Additionally, the committee approved a mitigation project focused on lightning safety in 10 states, with a total outlay of Rs 186.78 crore. The states covered are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The committee also approved a scheme for forest fire risk management, targeting 144 high-priority districts across 19 states, with a total outlay of Rs 818.92 crore.

The central share from the NDMF and NDRF will be Rs 690.63 crore. The main goal of this scheme is to transform forest fire management in India by strengthening and supporting critical forest fire prevention and mitigation activities.

The states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand will submit proposals to undertake activities related to forest fire mitigation, preparedness for forest fire response, and post-fire assessment and recovery.

To fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a disaster-resilient India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, under the guidance of the Home Minister, has implemented several initiatives aimed at enhancing disaster management in the country, the statement said.

The Modi government has taken multiple steps to minimise the loss of life and property during disasters by strengthening the disaster risk reduction system in India.

Prior to these proposals, the HLC had approved financial assistance from the NDMF for other projects, including urban flood risk mitigation in seven major cities with a total outlay of Rs 3,075.65 crore, GLOF risk management in four states with a total outlay of Rs 150 crore, and landslide risk mitigation in 15 states with a total outlay of Rs 1,000 crore.

Furthermore, over Rs 24,981 crore has already been released to states during the current financial year. This includes Rs 17,479.60 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to 27 states, Rs 4,808.30 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to 18 states, Rs 1,973.55 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) to 13 states, and Rs 719.72 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) to 8 states, the statement added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched the third part of the BJP manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5.

The party has announced several promises, ranging from granting ownership rights to people in refugee colonies to reopening 13,000 sealed shops in the national capital.

Addressing the event, Amit Shah said, “Modi ji has announced the granting of ownership rights to more than 1,700 unauthorized colonies. Previously, these colonies did not have permission for construction, buying, or selling. Now, by granting them full ownership rights and aligning with the Ministry of Housing’s regulations and Delhi’s by-laws, we will give them the right to construct and sell.”

“13,000 shops in Delhi are sealed, and we have worked with lawyers to find a legal path to reopen them. We will create a judicial authority and reopen these shops within six months to resume operations. Refugee colonies that have been established since 1947, such as Rajendra Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, and Kingsway Camp, currently have people on lease; they cannot sell or buy the land. We will grant ownership rights to all these refugees who have land on lease in these colonies in the first Cabinet meeting,” Shah added.

The Home Minister also announced the establishment of a Workers Welfare Board in Delhi, which will ensure that all workers have life insurance coverage of up to 10 lakh and accident insurance of up to 5 lakh.

“We will apply the same formula for textile workers. We will provide Rs 10,000 as assistance to workers, and for registered workers, we will offer loans up to 3 lakh to enhance skills and businesses,” he said.

He further highlighted that the BJP would provide 50,000 government jobs to the youth of Delhi without any corruption.

“And by creating 20 lakh self-employment opportunities, we will help the youth find employment. Through an investment of 20,000 crore, we will develop an integrated public transport network and convert 13,000 buses into electric buses, making Delhi a 100% electric bus city under the BJP government,” he said.

He also underlined that to promote tourism, they will collaborate with the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments to create a Mahabharata corridor.

“We will develop the Yamuna Riverfront, similar to the Sabarmati Riverfront. I would like to invite Kejriwal to join us after 3 years of our government to take a dip in the Yamuna with his family. We will end manual scavenging 100% and eliminate this inhumane practice completely,” he said,

The Union Home Minister also recalled the BJP’s promises from its earlier two manifestos. 

He said, “For every pregnant woman, we will provide financial assistance of Rs 12,000 and give six nutrition kits. LPG cylinders will be available for Rs 500, and BJP will provide one free LPG cylinder to every sister on Holi and Diwali. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, we will provide free treatment up to 5 lakh in the first Cabinet meeting to every poor person. Any treatment beyond 5 lakh will be covered by the Delhi government, ensuring that every poor person in Delhi receives treatment up to 10 lakh at no cost, even at major hospitals.”

He also mentioned that the BJP government would increase the pension for senior citizens from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per month.

“For women’s welfare, we will increase the pension for widows and destitute women from 2,500 Rs to 3,000 Rs per month. We will establish Atal Canteens in JJ Clusters, providing nutritious meals for just Rs 5,” he said.

“We will give a corruption-free and transparent state government. Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students will receive 1,000 Rs per month under the Ambedkar Stipend Scheme. Auto and taxi drivers will receive 10 lakh life insurance and 5 lakh accident insurance. A welfare board will be set up for domestic workers, and we will provide six months of paid maternity leave to mothers. We will double the PM Swanidhi scheme and provide financial aid to street vendors,” he said.

The Delhi assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 5. The counting of votes will happen on February 8.

A three-way contest is expected in Delhi between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress. AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP secured eight seats. Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Congress hit out at the Election Commission on Saturday, saying the “self-congratulation” on National Voters’ Day would not obscure the fact that the poll panel as it has been functioning makes a “mockery” of the Constitution and is an insult to the voters themselves.

The opposition party also alleged that over the past decade, the professionalism and independence of the Election Commission has been “severely compromised” by the duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Even as we celebrate National Voters’ Day, the ceaseless erosion of the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India, in the last ten years, is a matter of grave national concern.” “Our Election Commission of India and our Parliamentary Democracy, despite widespread doubts, over the decades, turned out to be impartial, independent and ideal to emulate globally,” he said.

The realisation of universal adult suffrage, extending to the grassroots levels of panchayat and urban local bodies embodies the vision of our founders, he said.

“However, complacency in upholding democratic processes can inadvertently pave the way for authoritarianism. Therefore, safeguarding the independence of our institutions is essential to preserve our democracy and uphold the constitutional principles that underpin it,” Kharge said.

Even as we celebrate National Voter’s day, the ceaseless erosion of the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India, in the last ten years, is a matter of grave national concern.

Our Election Commission of India and our Parliamentary Democracy, despite… pic.twitter.com/W6QgzEt75o

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 25, 2025

The National Voters’ Day has been celebrated for the past 15 years to mark the inception of the Election Commission (EC) on January 25, 1950, a day before India became a republic.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “There will be a lot of self-congratulation today but that will not obscure the fact that the Election Commission as it has been functioning makes a mockery of the Constitution and is an insult to the voters themselves.” “Today has been celebrated as National Voters Day since 2011 to mark the day on which the Election Commission came into being 75 years ago on Jan 25th, 1950,” he noted.

The Election Commission is a Constitutional body and its first Chairman was the legendary Sukumar Sen whose role in establishing the foundations of our electoral democracy was crucial, Ramesh said.

“He was the sole Chief Election Commissioner for eight years. His ‘Report on the First General Elections in India 1951-52’ is a classic. But the preparations of the draft electoral roll for the first elections had been completed before Sen took over,” he said.

The story of this historic endeavour and of the people involved in it is narrated very finely by Ornit Shani in her definitive ‘How India Became Democratic’, Ramesh pointed out.

There have been other distinguished CECs, among whom TN Seshan stands tallest and whose contributions were seminal, he said.

“Sadly, over the past decade, the professionalism and independence of the Election Commission has been severely compromised by the PM-HM duo,” Ramesh alleged.

“Some of its decisions are now under challenge in the Supreme Court. Its stand on the concerns raised on the recent assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra has been shockingly partisan,” Ramesh said.

“There will be a lot of self-congratulation today but that will not obscure the fact that the Election Commission as it has been functioning makes a mockery of the Constitution and is an insult to the voters themselves,” he said.

In another post on X, Ramesh said? “As we celebrate National Voters’ Day, it is instructive to recall what the RSS weekly Organiser had written on Jan 7, 1952 in the midst of the first general election. It hoped that Jawaharlal Nehru would live to ‘confess the failure of universal adult franchise in India’.” “It rebuked Nehru who, it said, ‘all along lived by slogans and stunts’ for not listening to others and insisting that ALL citizens over the age of 21 should have the right to vote. This was, of course, reduced to 18 in 1989,” Ramesh recalled. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered the constitution of an inter-ministerial team to visit a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district to ascertain the causes of deaths in three incidents in the past six weeks.

The team will be headed by a senior Union home ministry officer and consist of experts from the ministries of health and family welfare, agriculture, chemicals and fertilisers, and water resources, according to an official statement.

The team will also be assisted by experts from the animal husbandry, food safety and forensic science labs.

The central team will proceed on Sunday and, in collaboration with the local administration, also work on providing immediate relief as well as taking precautionary measures to prevent such incidents in the future, according to the statement.

Experts from some of the most reputable institutions in the country have been arranged to manage the situation and understand the causes of the deaths.

At least 16 people have died of a mysterious illness in the Budhal village of Rajouri district in the past 45 days.

People complained of fever, pain, nausea and loss of consciousness before dying within days of their admission to hospitals. A girl continues to remain critical.

Earlier, a Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson said investigations and samples empirically indicated that the incidents were not due to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin and that there is no public health angle. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)