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Chennai, Nov 2 (IANS) Political parties in Tamil Nadu on Sunday warned that they will jointly approach the Supreme Court if the Election Commission of India (ECI) fails to suspend the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists, alleging that it could lead to mass deletion of voters.
The proposal was adopted in an all-party meeting called by Chief Minister MK Stalin at a hotel in T. Nagar.
Leaders of over 40 parties participated in the meeting and demanded that the Election Commission immediately stop the ongoing SIR process in Tamil Nadu and other states until clear guidelines and adequate time for verification are ensured.
Invitations were sent to around 60 parties, although more than 20, including actor Vijay-led Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), PMK and Nam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), boycotted the meeting.
Chief Minister Stalin said the meeting was organized to protect democracy and people’s right to vote.
Citing the example of Bihar, where assembly elections are to be held on November 6 and 11, he alleged that there lakhs of names, mainly from minority and marginalized communities, were removed due to the Election Commission’s special voter-list revision.
He declared, “What happened in Bihar should not be repeated in Tamil Nadu. People’s right to vote should never be tampered with.”
Acknowledging that updating the voter list is necessary for fair elections, Stalin said the timing and manner of the SIR exercise was deeply questionable.
He said, “Conducting full-scale vetting a few months before the elections is a deliberate step to erase genuine voters in the name of cleaning the lists.”
The all-party resolution demanded that the Election Commission correct the errors in its notification, ensure adherence to Supreme Court guidelines and amend the voter list in a transparent manner only after the 2026 assembly elections.
The meeting stressed that the SIR practice, in its current form, poses a serious threat to the democratic process.
“If the Commission proceeds without addressing these concerns, we will be left with no option but judicial intervention,” the resolution said.
–IANS
aal/vd