FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 07 January 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS ‘Eliminating malnutrition key to building Viksit Bharat’ Madras HC upholds directive to light Deepam: Chennai: In a major setback for the DMK government of MK Stalin, a Division Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld the directive of a single judge to light the Karthigai Deepam atop the Thiruparankundram hillock at the stone pillar, claimed to be a Deepathoon adjacent to the Sikkandar Dargah in Madurai city. Trashing the contention of the state, Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan while dismissing the appeals of the state observed that the order of the single judge is not hit by res judicata as the issue was not decided in earlier litigations. The appeals were filed challenging the order of Justice GR Swaminathan on 1 December last on a petition from a Hindu activist, directing temple authorities to light deepam at the stone pillar, close to the dargah. Page 7 Smith’s SCG masterclass takes him closer to Bradman’s Ashes feats Page 5 Page 16 NATION Page 11 Page 12 BRIEFLY Jairam Ramesh questions US role in ‘Op Sindoor’ halt Maduro pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges Mamata lashes out at ECI, alleges harassment of voters Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi passes away STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Gangasagar, 6 January C hief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, alleging large-scale harassment of voters and branding the entire exercise as “illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic.” Yesterday, speaking from the administrative dais after inaugurating the much-awaited Gangasagar Bridge at the sacred pilgrimage site, the Chief Minister said people across the state were being subjected to undue harassment in the name of hearings under the SIR process. She claimed elderly citizens, pregnant women and vulnerable sections were being forced to stand in long queues even in severe cold. “The commission is doing everything wrong. Living people are being declared dead. Elderly citizens are being dragged to hearings with oxygen support,” Ms Banerjee alleged, accusing the poll body of gross insensitivity and administrative failure. The Chief Minister further claimed that nearly 54 lakh names had been deleted from the electoral rolls without giving voters a fair chance to defend their inclusion. “Those people had the right to submit Form 7 and Form 8. Instead, names are being removed arbitrarily,” she said, alleging that artificial intelligence was being misused to delete names mechanically. In a sharp political attack, Ms Banerjee also alleged that the Election Commission of India had developed its app through the BJP’s IT cell. “The app created by the BJP IT cell is completely illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic. This cannot be allowed in a democracy,” she said, adding that even WhatsApp was being used to run the commission’s affairs. Warning of legal action, the Chief Minister said she would move the Supreme Court against the alleged irregularities in the SIR process. “If required, I will personally appear in court to argue the case,” she asserted. On Tuesday, while returning to Kolkata from Gangasagar, Ms Banerjee reiterated her allegations before reporters, once again accusing the Election Commission of acting arbitrarily. “The commission is committing blunders. They are harassing people in the name of hearings. This is unacceptable,” she said. Meanwhile, the CM also assured pilgrims about preparations for the upcoming Gangasagar Mela, scheduled to begin on Friday. Over 2.89 cr voters deleted in UP as ECI releases draft roll Pune, 6 January Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi passed away on Tuesday following a prolonged illness. He was 81. The former Member of Parliament had been undergoing treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. His mortal remains will be kept at Kalmadi House in Erandwane for public darshan till 2 p.m, after which his last rites will be performed at Vaikunth Smashanbhumi in Navi Peth, Pune. Kalmadi began his career as a pilot in the Indian Air Force before rising to prominence in politics. He served for many years as a Member of Parliament from Pune, held positions as a Union Minister, and later became President of the Indian Olympic Association. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 6 January Over 2.89 crore voters’ names have been deleted from the Uttar Pradesh voter list as the Election Commission of India on Tuesday released the draft electoral rolls following the completion of the enumeration phase of the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Addressing a Press conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Election Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that the poll panel received approximately 12 crore 55 lakh enumeration forms. Before the SIR exercise, Uttar Pradesh had a total of 15.44 crore registered voters. “The number of enumeration forms we received was approximately 12 crore 55 lakh. This means that these many people returned the forms duly signed, indicating that their names should be included in the draft list,” Rinwa said. According to a statement issued by the ECI, “a total of 12,55,56,025 electors, out of 15,44,30,092 electors as per the Electoral Roll as on 27 October 2025, have submitted their Enumeration Forms till the last date of the enumeration period, i.e., 26 December 2025, reflecting overwhelming participation in the first phase of the SIR.” Breaking down the deletions, the ECI stated that 46.23 lakh voters were marked as “deceased”, while around 2.17 crore names were found to have either migrated, permanently shifted, or could not be traced by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).