Several political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the ruling TVK led by Joseph Vijay, its allies Congress, VCK and Left parties and the principal opposition DMK, boycotted an all-party meeting convened by the Election Commission on Friday to discuss the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls. They demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision exercise.
The meeting was convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik at the Secretariat and representatives of recognised political parties, including the DMK, AIADMK, TVK, VCK and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), were invited to participate.
The protesting parties staged a walkout, alleging that the Election Commission had compromised transparency and democratic neutrality during the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. They demanded that the alleged anomalies in that exercise be rectified before another revision was undertaken.
The AIADMK and the BJP, however, attended the meeting, with the AIADMK saying that it wanted to place its concerns and demands before the poll panel.
DMK QUESTIONS DELETION OF OVER 74 LAKH VOTERS
Leading the walkout, DMK Legal Wing Joint Secretary I Paranthamen questioned the removal of more than 74 lakh voters from the electoral rolls during the final SIR process and demanded that the Election Commission clarify their status.
"Over 74 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls during the final SIR process. Where have they gone? Have they been deported or are they no longer residing in India and Tamil Nadu? The EC has provided no answer," Paranthamen alleged.
He said any electoral revision exercise conducted under the current Chief Election Commissioner lacked credibility and described it as an "eyewash and a futile exercise".
"He should either step down voluntarily or be removed constitutionally," Paranthamen said, adding that DMK MPs had already resolved to seek the CEC's resignation and petition the President.
The DMK and other protesting parties maintained that the alleged discrepancies in the previous revision needed to be addressed before the Election Commission proceeded with the new exercise.
MINISTER DEMANDS CORRECTION OF ANOMALIES
Tamil Nadu Minister for Energy Resources and Law R Nirmal Kumar also called for the CEC's resignation, alleging that a large number of voters, particularly young people and women, had been arbitrarily removed from the electoral rolls during the previous revision.
"A massive number of electors, especially youth and women, were arbitrarily struck off the voter rolls under the guise of the previous revision. The CEC must take moral responsibility for these lapses and resign immediately," he said.
Nirmal Kumar argued that proceeding with another summary revision without correcting the alleged mistakes would be unacceptable.
"Without rectifying these glaring mistakes first, conducting another summary revision is completely unacceptable," he added.
The protesting parties also questioned the credibility of the current Election Commission leadership and called for accountability over the previous electoral roll revision.
CONGRESS SAYS NO MEETING UNDER CURRENT EC LEADERSHIP
A Congress representative confirmed that the party had decided to walk out of the meeting, citing a lack of trust in the Election Commission and serious concerns over the election commissioners.
The representative said the Congress would not participate in meetings chaired by the current commission leadership until Gyanesh Kumar resigned.
The party's decision aligned with the demands raised by the DMK and other parties that boycotted Friday's meeting.
AIADMK CITES 97 LAKH AFFECTED VOTER ENTRIES
The AIADMK attended the meeting despite the walkout by several parties, with senior leader and former minister D Jayakumar explaining that participation was necessary to place the party's concerns on record.
"Whether to stage a walkout or participate is a party's democratic right. We chose to participate to place concrete facts on record," Jayakumar said.
He cited Election Commission data from the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu, stating that around 97 lakh voter entries had been flagged or affected during the process.
According to Jayakumar, the figure comprised 26 lakh deceased voters, 52 lakh voters who had shifted, four lakh duplicate entries and 13 lakh voters who had permanently relocated.
The AIADMK demanded that the Election Commission thoroughly review these entries during the current revision and publicly disclose how many had been verified as legitimate.
"We demanded that the EC thoroughly review these 97 lakh entries transparently during this revision and publicly clarify how many were legitimately verified," Jayakumar said.
He added that the commission had a responsibility to address public doubts surrounding the SIR exercise.
"People have doubts about the SIR exercise, and it is the commission's foremost duty to clear them," he said.
Jayakumar also urged the Election Commission to reschedule special camps planned for November, citing the monsoon season.
According to the Election Commission, the Special Summary Revision (SSR) is a routine exercise undertaken to update existing electoral rolls by including eligible voters and removing ineligible entries, with the objective of maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter lists.
The Opposition parties allege that the SIR exercise was a systematic attempt to remove voters from electoral rolls to favour the BJP in elections.
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