DMK To Lead November 11 Protest Against Election Commission For Conducting SIR In Tamil Nadu

Chennai: The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Thursday announced they will organise a "major protest" at 10 am on November 11 to condemn the Election Commission of India (ECI) for carrying out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list in Tamil Nadu.

In a statement issued by the SPA, they said despite most political parties opposing the SIR from the beginning, the Election Commission is "acting as a puppet of the Union government, with an authoritarian attitude". The statement said the ECI has launched the SIR in the state with only a few months left before Assembly elections.

The statement continued: "The ECI has tried to do this by keeping the BJP government as its protector, with the aim of targeting and eliminating minority and anti-BJP votes, by removing eligible voters and adding ineligible ones. The implementation of the SIR in 12 states, including Tamil Nadu, without rectifying any irregularities that took place in Bihar, is taking away people's voting rights, and completely eroding democracy. Moreover, the ECI's haste raises doubts."

The statement also claimed that the ECI is planning to remove names of genuine voters in Tamil Nadu from the list through the SIR, alleging that it is being held during the peak period of the Northeast monsoon in the state, when heavy rains and bad weather are expected to hinder the lives of rural voters who do not have the time to fetch, fill and return the enumeration forms.

It further alleged that in most places, booth level officers (BLOs) have not started giving the enumeration forms, that there is lack of communication between BLOs and the booth level agents (BLAs) of political parties, who are supposed to accompany the BLOs, that in some places like Tiruppur, BLOs have insisted on completing the enumeration form within a day, and that the 2002/2005 voter lists published on the ECI's website are incomplete and confusing.

Also Read:

1. Kerala To Challenge SIR in Supreme Court Amidst Political Row
2. DMK Approaches The Supreme Court Against Special Revision Of Electoral Rolls
3. Kerala To Challenge SIR in Supreme Court Amidst Political Row