CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday called the successful completion of the SIR exercise and the publication of the draft electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu a vindication of his party’s long-standing demand for such an exercise, with reports indicating that over 97 lakh names have been deleted.
In a statement issued through X, Palaniswami claimed that a majority of the deleted entries were bogus voters, and alleged that the exercise has exposed what he described as the DMK’s attempts to distort democratic values through fake voters. He said the ruling party, rattled by the removal of these entries, was now preparing to stage “dramas” and spread misinformation by claiming that genuine voters had been snatched away.
Accusing the DMK and Chief Minister M K Stalin of peddling false narratives, Palaniswami said no genuine voter would be deprived of their right as long as the AIADMK remained vigilant. He also congratulated his party workers for their role in the SIR exercise, but said the most crucial phase of the work has begun now.
Palaniswami further instructed party cadre to compare the draft electoral rolls booth-wise with the previous lists to verify whether deletions were made for valid reasons such as death, relocation, or duplicate entries.