CHENNAI: The publication of the draft electoral roll on Friday has evoked sharp criticisms from the INDIA bloc leaders and a call-to-action from the Congress to its booth committee members for the conduct of a door-to-door verification of the voter list.
In a post on X, former union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that a total of 1,50,828 voters in Sivaganga district and 1,39,587 in Pudukkottai district were removed. He urged the booth committee members to take the final voter list and go from house to house to verify it. In a separate post, the Congress leader expressed his concern over the ECI’s announcement that 66,44,881 voters are without an address of residence. He requested the cadre of all political parties to pay attention to this figure. “It is astonishing that so many people have been or are without addresses,” he added.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam told TNIE that, according to the party, the SIR was an unnecessary exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI). He said, “In the upcoming exercise to enrol new voters, the ECI should ensure that all eligible voters are included.”
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian told TNIE, “By depriving over 97 lakh people of their voting rights, the BJP-led government has endangered their very citizenship and caused damage to democracy. Such actions have dealt a severe blow to democracy.”
Speaking about the next course of action, he said, “We will pursue all possible legal remedies to correct this injustice."