SALEM: Backing the Summary Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday accused the DMK of attempting to stall the process to protect thousands of invalid and duplicate voter entries across Tamil Nadu.
He said the problem was most severe in constituencies under the Greater Chennai Corporation, where "close to 50,000 invalid or duplicate names" remained on the rolls, while every other Assembly constituency in the State continued to carry several thousands.
Speaking to reporters at the Salem airport, Palaniswami said the revision exercise was crucial to remove the names of deceased persons, those who had migrated, and duplicate voters who continued to appear on lists for years. He criticised what he called "intentional administrative lethargy" in multiple districts and alleged that some officials were slowing down work.
Palaniswami also accused district election officials of appointing inadequately trained Booth Level Officers (BLOs), resulting in confusion among residents.
In some places, he said, BLOs struggled to explain the forms or guide people through the process. "If the same officials can distribute voter slips in just five days before every election, why can't they complete SIR work in one month?" he asked, pointing out that elections themselves from notification to counting are completed within 30 days.
Citing past examples, the AIADMK leader recalled that 31,000 names were removed in R K Nagar in Chennai and 10,000 in Karur only after the party approached the High Court, despite submitting detailed complaints earlier.
He said thousands of similar entries persisted in districts such as Salem, Chennai and elsewhere and referring to Bihar, he also said it was "no surprise" that nearly 60 lakh names were removed there during the revision exercise.
Taking aim at the ruling party, he alleged that the DMK had publicly criticised the SIR exercise but was now "quietly accompanying BLOs during field visits more than any other party," indicating double standards.
"Their fear is simple - once the rolls are cleaned, there will be no room for fraudulent voting," he said.
Referring to the Bihar Assembly election results, Palaniswami said the NDA's sweeping victory disproved allegations that SIR entailed any conspiracy.
On the government's proposed 30,000-crore smart-meter project, Palaniswami alleged a 'massive scam in the making' and warned that the AIADMK would file a public interest litigation once full tender details became public.
He declined to comment on reports about former BJP state president K Annamalai's assets, stating he could not respond based solely on media accounts.