TVK, DMK Walk Out of SSR Meeting, Seek Gyanesh's Resignation Over SIR
The AIADMK and the BJP, however, attended the meeting, with the AIADMK raising concerns over the deletion and shifting of nearly 97 lakh voters during the SIR process
Chennai: Several political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the ruling TVK and the principal opposition DMK, on Friday walked out of an all-party meeting convened by the EC to discuss the SSR of electoral rolls. The parties demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the poll panel of "compromising transparency and democratic neutrality".
Tamil Nadu Minister for Energy Resources and Law R Nirmal Kumar echoed the demand, saying the new Special Summary Revision should not proceed until anomalies in the previous revision were rectified.
"A massive number of electors, especially youth and women, were arbitrarily struck off the voter rolls under the guise of the previous revision. The CEC must take moral responsibility for these lapses and resign immediately. Without rectifying these glaring mistakes first, conducting another summary revision is completely unacceptable," he said.
The AIADMK and the BJP, however, attended the meeting, with the AIADMK raising concerns over the deletion and shifting of nearly 97 lakh voters during the SIR process.
Addressing the media after leading the walkout, DMK Legal Wing Joint Secretary I Paranthamen alleged that the electoral revision exercise under the current Election Commission lacked credibility.
"Over 74 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls during the final SIR process. Where have they gone? Have they been deported or are they no longer residing in India and Tamil Nadu? The EC has provided no answer. Any exercise conducted under the current CEC is an eyewash and a futile exercise. He should either step down voluntarily or be removed constitutionally," Paranthamen claimed.
He recalled that DMK MPs had already resolved to seek the CEC's resignation and petition the President.
A Congress representative also confirmed the party's decision to walk out, citing a lack of trust in the EC and serious concerns over the election commissioners. The representative said the Congress would not participate in meetings chaired by the current commission leadership until the CEC resigned.
Senior AIADMK leader and former minister D Jayakumar explained why his party had attended the meeting despite other parties walking out.
"Whether to stage a walkout or participate is a party's democratic right. We chose to participate to place concrete facts on record," Jayakumar said.
He said EC data from the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu showed that around 97 lakh voters had been flagged or affected, comprising 26 lakh deceased voters, 52 lakh who had shifted, four lakh duplicate entries and 13 lakh who had permanently relocated.
"We demanded that the EC thoroughly review these 97 lakh entries transparently during this revision and publicly clarify how many were legitimately verified. People have doubts about the SIR exercise, and it is the commission's foremost duty to clear them," he added.
Jayakumar urged the poll panel to reschedule special camps planned for November in view of the monsoon season.
The meeting, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, continued with representatives of the participating parties, including the BJP.