Stalin slams EC for 'hasty, opaque' SIR in Tamil Nadu, calls for alliance leaders' meet on Nov 2

CHENNAI: The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Monday said it would convene an all-party meeting on November 2 to decide the next course of action against what it described as attempts by the BJP, aided by the Election Commission of India (ECI), to disenfranchise voters in Tamil Nadu through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

After chairing a meeting of SPA partners at Anna Arivalayam, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin said conducting the SIR just months before the elections, and particularly during the North East monsoon, would pose severe practical difficulties. “To carry out the SIR in a hasty and opaque manner is nothing but a conspiracy by the ECI to rob citizens of their rights and help the BJP,” he said in a post on social media after the meeting.

Referring to the Bihar experience, Stalin said large numbers of women, minorities and members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were removed from the electoral rolls, fuelling suspicion about the Election Commission’s neutrality. “Now the ECI has announced that SIR will begin in Tamil Nadu from next week. Following discussions with our alliance partners, an all-party meeting will be held on November 2 to decide the next steps,” he said.

Stalin said the right to vote was the foundation of democracy. “Tamil Nadu will fight against any attempt to murder it, and Tamil Nadu will win,” he asserted.

In a joint statement, SPA leaders said the revision exercise should not be rushed and urged that it be conducted transparently and fairly to ensure that genuine voters were not removed. Leaders of the Congress, MDMK, CPI, CPM and VCK attended the meeting.