Stalin lists questions to ECI, wants SIR scrapped

Chennai: A day after chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters list, chief minister M K Stalin said ECI's defence raised several questions rather than providing answers. "How can there be so many deletions of eligible voters when house-to-house enumeration was undertaken," Stalin asked ECI on X, listing out six more questions, on Monday.

Saying enrolment of new voters was less, Stalin asked whether young voters were enumerated. "Has any database been compiled to show how many youngsters who turned 18 on the qualifying date were included," he asked. He said the procedure for inquiry and two appeals, under Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, may exclude a huge number of voters in the upcoming Bihar elections. "Is ECI going to address this issue," he asked. "Will ECI take these practical difficulties into account while conducting SIR in other states," he asked.

Recalling DMK's petition to ECI on July 17 to delete the deceased votes, Stalin asked when it will be done. He also asked what prevented ECI from enlisting Aadhaar as one of the acceptable documents to prove a voter's claim. He concluded by asking, "If free and fair elections are truly the aim of ECI, why can't it be more transparent and voter-friendly?"

Stalin is the latest to join India bloc leaders in criticising ECI for its defence of SIR. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flagged a series of issues, including missing voters and the addition of "ghost voters" during SIR in Bihar, other leaders such as Karnataka chief minister K Siddaramaiah also highlighted discrepancies in the data of ECI.

Stalin has demanded ECI scrap SIR in other states, particularly TN, and urged DMK functionaries to be wary of addition or deletion of voters in the state.