Rush Hour: Rahul Gandhi seeks machine-readable voter rolls, Iran-Israel ceasefire violated and more

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4 days ago

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Alleging that 'vote theft' took place during the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday demanded the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage.
The leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha made the statements after Newslaundry reported that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' constituency saw an 8% increase in voters between the Lok Sabha elections, held in May and June 2024, and the Assembly polls in November.
Gandhi has frequently demanded access to voter lists, polling data and election footage, alleging irregularities.
His statements on Tuesday came days after the Election Commission wrote to him saying all polls are held strictly as per laws passed by Parliament. Read on.
The Israel Defense Forces has accused the Iranian military of violating the ceasefire hours after it came into effect. Tel Aviv will 'respond with force' in retaliation to the 'severe violation of the ceasefire carried out by the Iranian regime', said Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir.
On the other hand, Iranian state-run Press TV quoted the country's armed forces as having denied that it had launched fresh missile attacks on Israel. On Tuesday, Tel Aviv and Tehran agreed to the truce after 12 days of conflict.
Hours later, United States President Donald Trump said that both countries had violated the terms of deal. 'They violated it but Israel violated it too,' said Trump. 'I am not happy with Israel.' Read on.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered the Union government to facilitate the return of 63-year-old Rakshanda Rashid from Pakistan to India on humanitarian grounds. Rashid had lived in Jammu on a long-term visa for 38 years with her husband, a retired government official, and two children.
She was deported to Pakistan on April 30 during a crackdown on Pakistani citizens following the Pahalgam terror attack. According to her husband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, Rashid suffers from several ailments and has no one in Pakistan to care for her.
The terror attack at Baisaran near the town of Pahalgam on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 16 injured. Following this, New Delhi had on April 24 announced that the visas of Pakistani citizens in India would stand revoked from April 27. Read on.
India has evacuated 2,295 citizens from Iran amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, said the Ministry of External Affairs. This includes 292 Indian citizens who arrived in New Delhi on a special flight from Mashhad at 3.30 am on Tuesday as part of Operation Sindhu.
Another flight had brought 290 Indians and one Sri Lankan citizen from Mashhad to New Delhi at 7.15 pm on Monday. The first evacuation flight arrived in New Delhi on Thursday. This was followed by a series of special flights.