Edappadi slams bid to scuttle SIR by appointing unqualified BLOs

COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday said the process of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was hampered by the interference of DMK.

Addressing media persons in Salem, the Leader of the Opposition said the SIR works are carried out at a slow pace in Chennai and several other districts due to the State government’s interference.

In Chennai, unqualified persons who have studied only up to class 4 have been appointed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). How will they explain the details (about filling forms) to voters? Despite AIADMK raising the issue, officials did not change these BLOs, as the government has issued oral orders against the smooth conduct of SIR. The Election Commission of India (ECI) should take efforts to prevent irregularities and ensure genuine voters are not removed from the electoral rolls,” he said.

Alleging that district Collectors and Commissioners appoint such unqualified BLOs in the capacity of election officers at the behest of the State government, Palaniswami denied DMK’s charge that one month is insufficient to conduct SIR.

“It will take merely a week to issue forms and another ten days to receive them. But the DMK is worried over casting bogus votes if SIR is conducted seriously,” he said.

Further, the AIADMK leader said there may be at least 50,000 voters who have either passed away or shifted, and their names need to be deleted in each constituency in Chennai alone. “A DMK functionary has been accompanying the door-to-door visit by a BLO for enumeration,” he alleged, adding that SIR is a legitimate exercise to conduct polls in a free and fair manner.

Meanwhile, Palaniswami accused the DMK regime of indulging in a 30,000-crore irregularity in the procurement of smart meters and vowed to take the issue to court once the tender details are revealed.