THE Election Commission has no legal basis to conduct the SIR and it must be stopped, Congress MP Manish Tewari said on Tuesday and made a slew of suggestions for election reforms, including either mandating a 100 per cent counting of VVPAT slips or reverting to paper ballots. Initiating the discussion on Election Reforms in the Lok Sabha, Tewari also called for disallowing direct cash transfers to people ahead of polls and adding two members -- the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India -- to the existing three-member panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners. The Congress leader said the 2023 law stipulates that the panel to select the election commission and the two election commissoners should comprise the Prime Minister, the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister. Tewari also attacked the Government over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue.

 

“I have to say with regret that the Special Intensive Revision (of electoral rolls) is being discussed throughout the country. The SIR is happening in many states, but I am saying with a lot of responsibility that legally, EC has no right to conduct SIR. This is just a right to the EC that if there is anything wrong with the electoral roll of a constituency, it can correct it for reasons that need to be recorded in writing and made public. Only then you can conduct SIR, you cannot do SIR for the whole of Bihar, or for the whole of Kerala, or for the whole of West Bengal,” the Congress leader said. Lower minimum age to contest elections from 25 to 18: Shrikant Shinde SHIV Sena leader Shrikant Shinde on Tuesday made a strong demand for lowering the minimum age to contest Lok Sabha and Assembly elections from 25 to 18 years and allow remote voting for migrant voters. Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Lok Sabha, Shinde also said the Election Commission should introduce a common electoral roll for all elections and usher in simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

 

“If a person is eligible to cast his vote after attaining 18 years of age, he should also be eligible to contest the elections,” Shinde said. Census will include question on reasons for migration: Govt THE Census 2027 will also include questions related to the duration of stay at the current residence and the reason for migration, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that in the Census information of every individual is collected at the place where they are found during the period of enumeration. The Minister was responding to a question from a member on whether any special provisions are being made for counting migrant workers and temporary residents during the Census-2027 and whether a separate data collection process is proposed for the same. The Minister said migration data is collected for each and every individual based on their place of birth and place of last residence.

 

“The Census also collects information on the duration of stay at the current residence and the reason for migration. Questionnaire for Census is notified before conducting field work by the Central Government through the Official Gazette,” he said. ‘Centre to expand crop insurance to cover losses due to wild animals, inundation’: UNION Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday assured the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that the Government has expanded the ambit of the crop insurance scheme to cover losses caused not only by natural calamities but also by inundations and wild and stray animals. The assurance came in reply to questions raised by Nareshchandra Uttam Patel of the Samajwadi Party from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh.

 

He sought clarity on how the Government plans to address crop losses that often fall outside traditional definitions of natural calamities. Responding to questions raised during the session, Chouhan emphasised that the Government has introduced several amendments to make the scheme more farmer-friendly and responsive to ground realities. Explaining the changes, the minister said that earlier the tehsil was considered the unit for assessing crop losses, but now the village has been made the unit. This shift, he noted, allows for more precise identification of affected areas and ensures that even localised calamities are taken into account. “If a single unit of the field faces losses on account of local calamities, we reimburse the loss through the crop insurance scheme as farmers have no fault of their own,” Chouhan stated. He added that the inclusion of damages caused by wild and stray animals, along with inundation, reflects the Government’s commitment to addressing the diverse challenges faced by cultivators. The Minister highlighted that the State Governments are adopting crop-cutting experiments and weather-based crop insurance models to ensure accurate compensation.

 

He pointed out that when the crop loss is more than 35 per cent, Rs 17,000 per acre is given for agricultural crop losses, while perennial crops are compensated at Rs 22,500 per acre. These measures, he said, are designed to provide timely relief and safeguard farmers against unforeseen risks. Chouhan’s reply underlined the Government’s broader vision of strengthening rural resilience and ensuring that farmers are not left vulnerable to factors beyond their control. By expanding the scope of the crop insurance scheme, the Government aims to instil confidence among cultivators and reinforce its commitment to agricultural welfare. The announcement is expected to provide significant relief to farmers across the country, particularly those in regions frequently affected by stray animal incursions and seasonal flooding, thereby strengthening the safety net for India’s agrarian economy.