Political Row Over SIR Escalates as Opposition Protests, NDA Allies Seek Poll Panel Clarification

Delhi Police detained several activists and civil society members, including student leaders and prominent political activists, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The protest, organized against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, saw demonstrators raising slogans and demanding the arrest and resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. According to Delhi Police, the gathering was unauthorized as no prior permission had been sought or granted to assemble at the site. The demonstration was halted shortly after it began, following reports regarding internal disagreements among election commissioners over revisions to electoral rolls and forms.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is set to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to focus on counter-terrorism, geopolitical conflicts, and the interests of the Global South. During a briefing, Jaishankar dismissed a question on alleged cross-border terrorism posed by a Pakistani reporter, retorting that a terrorist country was asking him that question. The minister also voiced grave concern over repeated attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Announcing a group of friends with Liberia on seafarer safety, he stressed that violence against merchant mariners must end.

On this broadcast of Battle Cry on India Today, host Gaurav Sawant convenes Lieutenant General Raj Shukla, Air Marshal M Matheswaran, and Sandeep Unnithan to assess how artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and drone swarms are transforming contested battlefields.

In this edition of Statecraft, anchor Geeta Mohan analyses key geopolitical developments across the globe. At the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended strikes on Iran and displayed a Starlink terminal alongside references to pager explosions, amid a walkout by delegates and a cancelled meeting with Elon Musk. Meanwhile in Washington, US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping with full ceremonial honours, agreeing to extend the bilateral trade truce by two months while strategic disagreements over Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and rare earths persisted. The broadcast examines the regional implications of potential US-China rapprochement for India and the wider Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the programme covers Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif evading questions on Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed at the UN, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's new cabinet decree prohibiting face coverings in schools and capping non-Italian speakers at 30% per classroom.