CHENNAI: Stepping up the heat against Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR process, the INDIA Bloc in Tamil Nadu held a massive protest here condemning the "murder of democracy" and demanding the removal of the CEC, with the agitation witnessing the participation of C Joseph Vijay-led TVK in the state days after it joined the opposition alliance.

The TVK, its key ally, the Congress and other constituents of the INDIA Bloc including VCK attended the protest seeking action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Incidentally,VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan, who walked out of the DMK-led alliance post April elections to back the TVK government, blamed the SIR for the Dravidian party's loss in the hustings.

"The DMK was defeated through a systematic process of targeted voter deletion and electoral manipulation," he said, suggesting that individuals were specifically targeted to ensure a negative outcome for the then ruling party.

Thursday's protest was led by Tamil Nadu Congress chief B Manickam Tagore and represented by School Education Minister A Rajmohan on behalf of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). It saw the cadres of the INDIA Bloc gather in large numbers, display their respective party flags and raise slogans seeking the immediate resignation of the CEC over the SIR exercise.

At the protest, various speakers alleged that millions of voters - specifically Muslims, tribal groups, and marginalised communities - were systematically removed from the electoral rolls under the SIR process, asserting that over 97 lakh voters were struck off the roles in Tamil Nadu alone.

They argued that this process undermined the Constitution and represented a "democratic massacre" and expressed concerns that election processes were being manipulated to favour the ruling party, ie BJP.

They demanded transparency and the immediate reinstatement of unfairly removed voters.

Rajmohan highlighted his party's long-standing opposition to the SIR of electoral rolls and commitment to protecting democratic rights.

According to VCK MP Thirumavalavan, the DMK's defeat in the April 2026 Assembly election was "not a natural loss."

He alleged a systematic "theft of votes" and a "conspiracy" involving the Central government and the EC targeting political opponents in removing voters from the rolls during the SIR process.

Participating in the protest, Thirumavalavan claimed irregularities in the voter revision process.

"There was a systematic theft of votes and a conspiracy involving the ruling government and the Election Commission to target political opponents by removing voters from the list. The voters are removed under categories labeled Absent, Shifted, Transposed, or Duplicate," he claimed.

He alleged that the SIR of voters' roll was being misused to disproportionately disenfranchise opposition supporters, minority communities, and marginalised groups.

He highlighted that these protests were part of a broader national movement led by the INDIA grouping, including prominent Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who were advocating for the protection of the Constitution and democratic principles.

Thirumavalavan expressed solidarity with the Congress and other alliance partners, framing the struggle not just as a political competition, but as a defense of India's secular and pluralistic values.

MDMK founder Vaiko and state secretaries of CPI (M) and CPI, P Shanmugam and M Veerapandian, respectively, among others participated.