Political parties reiterate their opinion on SIR at meeting chaired by CEO

Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik on Wednesday chaired a meeting of representatives of recognised political parties, in which the parties expressed their opinion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls announced by the Election Commission.

While the ruling DMK questioned the timing of the exercise, the principal Opposition party, the AIADMK, welcomed it. The Congress opposed the exercise, while the BJP welcomed it. The Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, CPI(M), National People’s Party, DMDK, CPI, Naam Tamilar Katchi, and VCK also took part.

DMK leader R.S. Bharathi termed the meeting a joke, contending that the electoral rolls had been frozen as early as on October 27. Mr. Bharathi said his party was “not opposed to the revision”.

“When elections are due in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry in a few months, the Election Commission, with an ulterior motive, has made this announcement in a hurry,” Mr. Bharathi said. Tamil Nadu would witness the Northeast monsoon in November, he said, adding that not many people would remain in Chennai during the vacation in December-January.

“There is an ulterior motive. Just like they stole voters in Bihar, they are trying to do it in Tamil Nadu,” he said. “We pointed out all these issues. No one has whole-heartedly accepted SIR in Tamil Nadu. That is the fact,” he said. If the EC valued the opinion of political parties, it should postpone SIR, he added

.AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar said his party welcomed SIR, adding that the timeframe should be extended. When asked if his party would attend the meeting on SIR called by DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, he said the party leadership would decide.

SIR is a good initiative as it would remove dead electors and those who have moved out of their constituencies, Mr. Jayakumar said. He listed several instances where dead entries were removed from the electoral rolls due to the initiatives taken by his party.

Congress leader K.V. Thangkabalu reiterated his party’s opposition to SIR, and questioned the urgency in conducting the exercise in States that were due to go to the polls in a few months. Recalling the position of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue, Mr. Thangkabalu said the party’s representatives voiced its concerns during the meeting.

“An exercise supposed to have been conducted over a year is being planned over a few months,” he said. Tamil Nadu generally receives rainfall between November and January, he said, and expressed doubts over the participation of the public in the exercise. “If needed, postpone this exercise until after the elections,” he said.

BJP functionary Karu. Nagarajan said that if SIR is successful, the State would get genuine electoral rolls that would not have dead persons or those who have migrated out of a constituency.

“This is a reform. SIR has been conducted eight times in the country. This is a good opportunity for the people of Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Nagarajan said, and called for cooperation from the public. “Even some of the major parties that opposed said they did not oppose but sought more time,” he said.