Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has strongly criticised the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, stating it is 'focussed more on exclusion' and has 'played havoc with democracy' by disturbing free and fair elections.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once told then Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi in 2012, "I will commit suicide," expressing his deep anguish over ministers' "loose talk" criticising the Election Commission's functioning, a revelation made in Quraishi's upcoming book.
Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi stated, "We thought we'll go to the fountainhead of this hate discourse. This whole hate narrative according to us was being spread by the RSS," explaining the delegation's decision to meet RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2022.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has come under fire for his controversial remarks against the Chief Justice of India and now, he has targeted former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, calling him a "Muslim commissioner". Dubey's comments come after Quraishi criticized the Waqf (Amendment) Act as a "sinister and evil plan of the government to grab Muslim lands". Dubey's remarks have been met with widespread condemnation, with many calling them inflammatory and divisive.
'There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount'
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Saturday demitted office at the end of his six-year tenure.
As he demits office on Sunday, happy and contended, outgoing Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi hopes that paid news, which of late has emerged as a big threat to free and fair elections, will be made a cognisable offence.
President Pranab Mukherjee made the appointment filling a vacancy caused by the elevation of V S Sampath as Chief Election Commissioner after S Y Quraishi demitted office.
Quraishi asserted that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
The much-anticipated Indian Olympic Association (IOA) election took a dramatic twist on Saturday with the chairman of the election committee S Y Quraishi resigning from the post.
S Y Quraishi, Election Commissioner, was on Tuesday appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner in the place of Navin Chawla, who demits office on Thursday.
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Navin Chawla, passed away on Saturday at the age of 79. Chawla, a former bureaucrat, served as the election commissioner between 2005 and 2009, and then as chief election commissioner from April 2009 to July 2010.
Talking tough, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati should think before criticising the EC order to cover her statues and Bahujan Samaj Party's poll symbols in government parks.
S Y Quraishi assumed charge as new chief election commissioner of India on Friday.
Against the backdrop of the recent controversy between the Election Commission and the Law ministry over the latter claiming control over it, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Monday made it clear that this cannot happen as EC is a Constitutionally independent body.
Rediff.com has highlighted many stories about the controversy surrounding the EVMs and the growing opposition to their usage. In a letter to rediff.com, a representative of Election commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi's office has clarified the EC's position over the matter, which is threatening to blow up into a major issue of national concern.
Coming down hard on the Election Commission for its response on 'vote theft' allegations, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Sunday said the poll body should have ordered a probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's charges instead of 'shouting' at him in a language that was 'objectionable and offensive'.
Rider Fateh Jahan Singh Dhaliwal, aged 16, has also approached the court, through his mother, seeking quashing of the list of selected athletes and requested "further directions to conduct the shortlisting of riders for the Asian Youth Games".
Pitroda was reported to have said that he does not understand the threat India faces from China, claiming that it is often blown out of proportion.
Following his SMAT heroics, Kishan has also returned to the Indian team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
There are several myths being spread about the Muslim population in India which are creating hostility among the Hindus against the Muslims, Quraishi said during a discussion on his book The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India at the India International Centre in New Delhi.
If the draft constitution is approved on Sunday at the SGM along with this clause, a majority of the AIFF's Executive Committee members may have to resign from their positions or lose their top posts in the state units.
CEC Dr S Y Quraishi in an exclusive chat explains his plans for ensuring an trouble free election in the five poll-bound states.
AIFF adopts SC-approved constitution, leaves out two clauses pending Apex court direction
Majority of AIFF EC members to choose between national body posts and state unit office
Bidhuri, the BJP MP from South Delhi, had faced strong criticism over his "derogatory" comments against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha.
Taking strong exception to Law Minister Salman Khurshid's recent comments, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the minister had tried to undermine the authority of the Election Commission with his public utterances.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday called for a "complete check" on the menace of paid news during polls and emphasised on keeping a track on the expenditure record of candidates.
Team Anna's demand for incorporating Right to Reject a candidate in Parliament and assembly elections is an "interesting possibility", feels Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi.
The high-profile elections of the Indian Olympic Association will now be held on December 5, ten days after its earlier scheduled date of November 25 following the resignation of Election Commission chairman S Y Quraishi.
Former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday suggested an annual compulsory audit of funds and donations received by political parties. "We want that all political funding should be transparent and checked. There should be annual compulsory audits by an independent auditor to be picked up from a panel suggested by the Election Commission," Quraishi said.
Amid reports that some Samajwadi Party supporters clashed with mediapersons in Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh and were held hostage in a room by the mob collected there, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Tuesday said the journalists were "absolutely safe".
Complimenting West Bengal government for being extremely cooperative, chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said all suggestions and instructions of the commission were being readily complied with in the poll-bound state.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said that the debate on Lokpal Bill does not have any link with the Election Process as the model code of conduct does not apply to Parliament.
Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi on Friday defended the Election Commission's decision to countermand the assembly by-poll in the Hazratbal assembly constituency in Srinagar."The Election Commission has no powers to overrule the returning officer's decision to accept nomination papers and the decision to countermand the by-election was a legally correct one," Dr Quraishi told reporters in Srinagar.
The campaign by Team Anna in Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll may have raised hackles of Congress, but the Election Commission on Tuesday said it did not violate any election law and the panel saw no reason for intervention.
There was no move to advance elections to the assembly in Kerala which would be held in the mid-May next year, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said on Tuesday.
The Indian women Under-17 team's assistant coach Alex Ambrose has been sacked for alleged sexual misconduct, S Y Quraishi, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) overseeing the All India Football Federation, said on Sunday.
Chief Election Commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi is not embarrassed by activist Anna Hazare's candid confession that Indian elections are corrupt and if he ever contested in one, he would end up losing his security deposit.When asked about Hazare's statement that Indian voters are not educated enough -- "they take a bottle of alcohol or Rs 500 and cast their vote" -- CEC Quraishi stated that the statement was not at all telling on his job. He argued, "Not at all, not at all."
Role of black money in elections, threat to voters from Maoists, mushroom growth of political parties and casual approach of urban voters impede the electoral process in the country, Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has said.
