DMK, Allies Go All Out Against SIR

Chennai: The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in the State went all out against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by holding protests in 43 venues, including four in Chennai, on Tuesday and Chief Minister M K Stalin vowing to fight the impending danger that would rob the people of their voting rights through the legal battle that it has launched besides starting a ‘WarRoom Helpline’ to clear the confusion among the public

With the door-to-door distribution of enumeration forms by Booth Level Officers (BLO) going on in full swing, leaving many people in a quandary as they were unable to provide many of the details sought like their position in the last SIR, the DMK and its allies were mobilizing support for their protest from the people at one level and also helping the BLOs in the process.

Having urged the party booth agents to coordinate with the BLOs and ensure that none of their voters were left out of the electoral rolls, the DMK decided to intensify its protest against the exercise by dividing the State into eight zones for the purpose and appointing senior party leaders in charge of them.

The protests on Tuesday saw leaders of all the DMK’s alliance partners actively taking part in the agitations at various venues. At the Mint in north Chennai, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan and CPM state secretary P Shanmugham led the protests.

The agitation at Saidapet was led by TNCC president K Selvaperunthogai and DMK MPs Tamilachi Thangpandian and Kanimozhi N V N Somu, while in Chepauk DMK treasurer T R Baalu and CPI’s Mutharasan spearheaded the slogan raising. In the fourth venue, Sudarsanam MLA, took part.

Leaders and members of all the other alliance partners – MMK, IUML. Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi, Makkal Neethi Maiyam and Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi - took part in the protests in which slogans were raised demanding the stopping of SIR immediately.

State Minister for natural resources S Regupathy said that the AIADMK was the only party in the country that had gone to court supporting the conduct of SIR, which was basically an anti-democratic exercise. In a statement, he said it was shameful that the AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami was being too loyal to his masters in the BJP.

While the DMK was not against revision of the electoral rolls per se to avoid malpractices, the present exercise was being carried out in a hurry with little time left for the 2026 Assembly elections betraying the real motive behind it, he said. SIR was borne out of a conspiracy to remove all voters opposed to the BJP from the rolls, he said.

The DMK’s multi-pronged counter to the move to disenfranchise legitimate voters include training its workers at the booth level and those workers have been provided an app and a form to be filled with details of the voters.

Each of the eight regions would be headed by top leaders like K N Nehru, E V Velu, A Raja, Thangam Thenaraasu, M R K Panneerselvam, R Sakarapani, K Senthil Balaji and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who would be supported by other leaders at the district, constituency, city, town and panchayat union levels.

Senior lawyers of the party would also be attached to the eight regional committees to provide legal support and a help centre had been set up at Anna Arivalayam. List of voters who enrolled in the party through the ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’ initiative launched by the party has been sent to the booths to ensure that the names were not left out from the electoral list.

With no other political party involving itself in the SIR exercise, DMK workers were guiding the BLOs appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).