DMK petitions EC for electoral roll purification

DMK Organising Secretary and MP RS Bharathi suggested the use of Aadhaar card as better means for avoiding duplication as it was done in certain parts of the city. In a petition submitted to Lakhoni, Bharathi said a perusal of the voters lists and on field verification, various discrepancies/ errors such as double entries, multiple entries, non-deletion of shifted voters (who are not at all residing in the constituency) and non-deletion of death voters, were found. 

“In the meantime, we understand that linking of ‘Aadhaar Card’ for each voter is being done in certain chosen places of Chennai City. The same shall be done effectively for deletion of ‘Double Entries’, ‘Multiple Entries’ and ‘Shifted’ voters to carry out 100 per cent purification of voters list in RK Nagar constituency,” he added. 

In respect of deceased voters, he suggested the registration of death done at Corporation of Chennai should be taken as primary intimation for deletion and field verification should also be conducted. 

“In the absence of Aadhaar Card for any voter, the EC can insist such voter to prove as genuine voter by producing other permitted valid documents to prove the identity, as the Supreme Court held that Aadhaar was not mandatory,” he said. 

“Only after deletion of such bogus votes, the by-election for RK Nagar Assembly Constituency should take place, besides satisfaction of other factors such as atmosphere in the constituency becomes conducive to the holding of free and fair election,” he said. 

RK Nagar seat fell vacant on December 5 last year following the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The by-poll was earlier scheduled to be held on April 12 this year, but was rescinded by the ECI after allegations of voters being bribed. The ECI had recently announced that it would hold the by-poll by the end of this year.

Earlier, talking to media persons at party headquarters Anna Arivalyam, Stalin urged the state chief electoral officer Rajesh Lakhoni to act on their representation and remove double entries in the electoral roll of poll bound RK Nagar constituency. 

Stalin had alleged that the ruling AIADMK had abused its power and included over 40,000 bogus voters in the voters list. Stalin has also asked the state government to extend the parole granted to Rajiv case convict Perarivalan.