Stalin says SIR enumeration form is full of confusion, warns of likely deletion of voters’ names

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday said the details sought by the Election Commission of India in the enumeration form for the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls would confuse even the discerning among the voters.

Mr. Stalin, who himself had received a SIR form, said it was not clear whether the details sought of the relatives referred to parents, brothers, sisters, husband or wife. “Is there any clarity on the question? In the column against relatives, they have sought the number of the voter’s identity card. In the third column, once again, they have sought the names of the relatives. Whose name should be written — the relative’s or the applicant’s? There is a danger of the Election Commission deleting the names of voters even for a minor mistake,” he said in a video message.

Describing the details sought as a “bundle of confusion”, he rejected the argument that there was no need to fear the SIR since the exercise was being carried out by State government employees. “But the fact remains that a government employee will be under the control of the Election Commission and no longer answerable to the State government,” he said.

Mr. Stalin again made it clear that he was not opposing the SIR because an honest and transparent voters’ list was essential for free and fair elections. “But our stand is that it should not be carried out in a hurry. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has explained how the ruling BJP [at the Centre] committed serious frauds in the electoral rolls with the help of the Election Commission. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are also against the SIR,” he said.

The Chief Minister said DMK members had brought to the notice of the party leadership the problems faced ever since the SIR started. “The BLOs [Booth Level Officers] are not visiting houses, and even if they do, they do not bring along an adequate number of forms. How will an ERO [Electoral Registration Officer] be able to circulate over three lakh forms in a constituency and complete the process,” he asked.

Mr. Stalin said that though the Election Commission was supposed to release the draft rolls on December 7, it was uncertain whether it would be able to complete the exercise before the stipulated period. “As the DMK and its allies fear, a lot of voters may be removed from the rolls. Though the Election Commission said the BLOs and the parties’ BLAs [Booth Level Agents] would work together, it has not yet created a conducive atmosphere for it,” he said, urging DMK members to remain vigilant.