New Delhi: Representatives of Tamil Nadu’s ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led alliance and the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) walked
out of an all-party meeting with Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik on Friday, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
The meeting focused on the special summary revision (SSR) of electoral rolls. However, representatives raised objections to the earlier Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and sought accountability for alleged errors in the exercise.
TVK alleges revision errors
Tamil Nadu minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said the TVK had opposed the SIR from the outset. He claimed the exercise had affected the party’s performance in the April 23 assembly elections. “If it was not conducted, the TVK would have won in more than 160 [of 234] seats in the April 23 assembly polls.”
The minister alleged that the SIR contained extensive errors and said the CEC must accept responsibility.
“In continuation of that, demanding that he take responsibility, we sought chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation,” minister Kumar said after staging the walkout. He said support for the resignation demand had grown. He also called on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that elections take place with utmost fairness.
DMK questions voter deletions
DMK legal wing secretary I Paranthaman questioned the ECI’s response to the removal of more than 74 lakh names from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls. “After presenting our views to Patnaik, we staged a walkout from the meeting,” Paranthaman said.
The walkout brought the ruling alliance and the Opposition party together on the demand for Kumar’s resignation, despite their political differences.
SSR differs from SIR
The ECI has ordered a special summary revision in 17 states and Union Territories, with January 1 as the qualifying date. The SSR involves incremental changes to existing electoral rolls and is ordinarily an annual exercise. The SIR, by contrast, rebuilds the electoral list through an intensive revision process.
The Tamil Nadu meeting came amid protests in Delhi this month seeking Kumar’s removal and the scrapping of SIR over alleged irregularities. Authorities imposed restrictions, ordered Metro closures and internet shutdowns, and deployed security personnel during the demonstrations.
