TN Parties Resolve to Move SC Against SIR Before Polls
The parties which attended the meeting include the DMK, Congress, MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI, CPI-M, Dravidar Kazhagam, Thamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi and Makkal Neethi Maiyam
Chennai: An all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday resolved to move the Supreme Court against the special intensive revision (SIR) in Tamil Nadu if the Election Commission of India (ECI) did not halt the process that is planned to be held from November 4.
A resolution passed at the meeting attended by 46 parties said all they would move the Supreme Court even before the apex court delivers its verdict on the SIR in Bihar.
The AIADMK and BJP did not attend the meeting while the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) headed by Vijay issued a separate statement against the SIR though it was not part of the meeting.
The parties which attended the meeting include the DMK, Congress, MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI, CPI-M, Dravidar Kazhagam, Thamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi and Makkal Neethi Maiyam.
“The SIR is anti-democratic and against the voting rights of Tamil Nadu people,” a resolution adopted at the meeting said, and appealed to the Election Commission to abandon the process. The electoral rolls revisions could be held after the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu after rectifying the defects in the notification and following the transparently following the Supreme Court guidelines, the meeting said.
Since the ECI has not accepted the request, there is no option other than approaching the Supreme Court to establish the voting rights of Tamil Nadu voters, the resolution said. The parties in Tamil Nadu would file a petition in the Supreme Court to safeguard the electoral democracy, it asserted.
“The implementation of SIR just a few months before the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections is not acceptable,” the resolution said. The meeting condemned the ECI for “acting as a puppet of the Union government and in an arbitrary manner”. The resolution said the SIR was carried out in Bihar with a conspiracy to remove the minority and anti-BJP votes and include ineligible voters. The ECI had not given an answer to the charges to either the people’s court or the Supreme Court.
“There is no doubt that implementation of SIR in 12 States including Tamil Nadu without rectifying the mistakes in Bihar is an act of snatching away the voting rights of the people and burying democracy under the ground,” the parties said. The meeting noted that a formal notification should be issued in the Union gazette as per Section 69 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. An arbitrary announcement by the ECI is against the Constitution and the Representation of People Act, the resolution said, adding the announcement by the ECI is illegal.
The electoral revisions are essential for fair and free polls and it is the lifeline of democracy, the resolution said. The ECI should be an independent organisation and it should be neutral and impartial without supporting political parties. The Constitution had entrusted the important duty of creating a level playing field for all the parties. “We allege that the ECI which should discharge a major duty is acting on behalf of a party which is in power in the Union,” it said.
Though the Supreme Court had ordered that Aadhaar should be added as the 12th document for proof, the announcement made by the ECI on Aadhaar is ambiguous. The revision is not honest and transparent and the words used in the announcement raise strong doubts. The wordings “Aadhaar will be accepted as proof with a few conditions” is the stand of the commission, the parties noted.
In the same announcement, the ECI says, “No document is to be collected from electors during the enumeration phrases’ is confusing the people. In the same announcement in annexure-III, it is said the documents related to the birthday of the voter should be submitted to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) at the time of demand.
There are no answers to questions of when the documents would be demanded and on which form the notice would be given. There is no answer to the questions about which form the documents should be submitted and how many would be given for submission. This shows the confusion created by the ECI. Through the confusion, the election commission is planning to remove the names of true voters, the meeting alleged.
There are no answers and clarifications if the voter should submit a document and to whom it should be submitted. This confusion would be useful only to remove the eligible voters, the resolution said, adding the urgency of the ECI itself raises strong doubts.
The enumeration time fixed by the Election Commission between November 4 to December 4 is the peak of north-east monsoon rains. Heavy rains and bad weather conditions are expected in this period. Since most of the voters are from the rural areas and farmers, they would not have time to receive the enumeration forms and submit them. This would also lead to the removal of voters, the parties said.
The revenue department should be involved in handling the circumstances arising from the heavy rains, the meeting said, adding the planned period is not suitable for enumeration. Before the release of the draft rolls, Christmas and Pongal would be celebrated and there are fears that the voters and those involved in the revision process would lose their voting rights.
