CHENNAI: Charging that the BJP has turned the Election Commission of India into a poll rigging machinery, CM MK Stalin on Monday demanded the immediate release of a complete machine-readable voter roll for every state.
The chief minister, in his post on the X handle, said, “What happened in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura is not an administrative lapse; it is a calculated conspiracy to steal the people’s mandate.”
Stalin said ‘the vote theft evidence’ presented by the leader of the opposition in LS, Rahul Gandhi, exposed the scale of this fraud. Today, as Rahul Gandhi led MPs of the INDIA bloc in a march from Parliament House to the ECI, they were detained.
“We demand the immediate release of a complete machine-readable voter roll for every state, an end to politically driven deletions, and an independent probe into this subversion of our democracy,” Stalin said. Assuring that the DMK stands shoulder to shoulder in this fight, Stalin asserted, “We will not watch in silence while the BJP robs India’s democracy in broad daylight.”
Meanwhile, INDIA bloc MPs from the state participated in the rally towards the ECI by carrying the placards reading ‘Vaakku Thiruttu’(Vote Theft).
DMK MP Tiruchy Siva said, “We are not allowed to discuss it in the Parliament. However, we are being discredited with the allegation that we are disrupting the parliamentary proceedings. That is not true. We are fighting for justice and to uphold our democracy,” he said.
He further said, “ECI is a constitutional body to conduct the free and fair election. If they act like this, where can we go to complain? That’s why we are reaching out to the people,” and questioned why they were not allowed to meet the chief election commissioner.
DMK aware of each voter in TN wards, not easy to add fake ones, says Regupathy
Pudukkottai: Minerals and Natural Resources Minister S Regupathy on Monday asserted that the DMK is vigilant and committed to eliminating fake voters from the state’s electoral rolls and will take up the matter to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
Speaking to the media, the minister said, “DMK is aware of each voter in a ward and it’s not easy to add any fake voters. Beyond that, if anything happens during the revision process, we will submit our findings to the Election Commission to ensure that not a single fake voter remains.”
He referred to an ongoing case in Bihar concerning the voters’ list, which has reached the Supreme Court, noting the apex court is seeking clarifications from the state.
Vijay slams arrest of Rahul, oppn MPs
Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay on Monday strongly condemned the arrest of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other opposition MPs during their march from Parliament to the Election Commission office in Delhi.
In a press statement, Vijay recalled his earlier remarks at the release of the book ‘Ambedkar for All’ in December last year. Vijay pointed out that soon after reports emerged about the special intensive revision of the voters’ list in Bihar, TVK was the first political party from Tamil Nadu to voice concern, warning that such measures could undermine democratic rights. “Steps must be taken to ensure elections are held in a free and fair manner ,” he said.
Cong protests against INDIA leaders’ arrest
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), led by its president K Selvaperunthagai, on Monday staged a protest in Chennai condemning the arrest of INDIA bloc leaders in Delhi during a demonstration urging the Election Commission to ensure free and fair polls and alleging irregularities in the voters’ list.
Earlier, a large number of Congress cadre marched from Sathyamoorthi Bhavan towards Anna Salai to stage a protest, but were stopped by policemen at General Patters Road. The protesters sat on the road, blocking traffic, and some burnt Prime Minister Narendra Modi in effigy. The police arrested the cadre and detained them at a community hall in Triplicane.