Tamil Nadu: Ruling bloc, DMK reps walk out of ECI meeting, seek CEC’s resignation

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 over the special summary revision (SSR) of the electoral roll with chief electoral officer Archana Patnaik on Friday, demanding chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

Tens of thousands of people this month took to the streets in Delhi seeking Kumar’s removal over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and demanding its scrapping. Authorities ordered Metro closures, Internet shutdowns, imposed prohibitory orders and deployed 40,000 security personnel to turn Delhi into a virtual fortress.

Tamil Nadu minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said the TVK has opposed the SIR from the beginning. “If it was not conducted, the TVK would have won in more than 160 [of 234] seats in the April 23 assembly polls.”

He said there have been massive errors in the SIR. “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 the demand for CEC Kumar’s resignation is gaining strength. Minister Kumar added that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must ensure elections are conducted with utmost fairness.

Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s legal wing secretary I Paranthaman asked what measures the ECI has taken as over 7.4 million have been removed in Tamil Nadu. “After presenting our views to Patnaik, we staged a walkout from the meeting,” Paranthaman said.

The ECI has ordered an SSR of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, setting January 1 as the qualifying date. The SSR is a separate exercise from the SIR, which has been at the centre of a political and legal dispute. An SIR rebuilds the list from scratch. SSR makes incremental corrections. It is also meant to be annual.