'How Can Bihar Migrant Workers Be Voters in Tamil Nadu': Chidambaram Questions Alleged ECI Move

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, P Chidambaram, has questioned the alleged move of the Election Commission of India to include names of Bihar migrant workers in voter rolls in Tamil Nadu, making them eligible for democratic rights in Tamil Nadu.

In a sharp, politically charged post on X, Chidambaram accused the Election Commission of overstepping its boundaries and undermining the voting rights of the Tamil Nadu people.

The controversy comes ahead of the Bihar assembly elections slated for November, when the Election Commission undertook its Special Electoral List Revision (SIR) operation. As part of this process, roughly 65 lakh people from Bihar were removed from the voter rolls.

Among them, nearly 6.5 lakh people, primarily migrant workers and their families, live and work in Tamil Nadu. The commission has extended an offer for these people to register as voters in their state of residence, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and others.

"Every Indian has a right to live and work in any state where he has a permanent home. That is obvious and right. How did the ECI come to the conclusion that several lakh persons, whose names are in the current electoral rolls of Bihar, must be excluded because they had "permanently migrated" out of the state? That is the question," he wrote on X.

He further wrote, "Before you reach the conclusion that a person has "permanently migrated" out of a State, should not a thorough enquiry be conducted into each case? How could such an enquiry involving 37 lakh persons have been conducted in a period of 30 days? Mass disenfranchisement is a serious issue, and that is why the Supreme Court is hearing the petitions."

For Chidambaram, this proposal is nothing short of an assault on the political fabric of Tamil Nadu. He bluntly questioned how people, many of whom own property and have families in Bihar, could suddenly become eligible voters in Tamil Nadu.

Read More

1. CPI(ML) Writes To ECI Over Anomalies In Draft Electoral Roll For Bihar With Proof
2. ECI Abusing Its Powers, Must Be Fought Politically, Legally: Chidambaram