TN BJP claims, ‘DMK’s election defeat is inevitable’

Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran on Monday accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of finding excuses for his party’s impending defeat by opposing the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Nagenthran said it was ironic that Stalin, who had once demanded such an amendment citing fake voters during the 2017 RK Nagar by-election, is now questioning the same process.

“Whenever the Election Commission announces revision in the voter list, Stalin creates a ruckus. I want to remind him that in 2017, it was the DMK that had moved the Madras High Court seeking special revision due to the presence of fake voters in RK Nagar. Has he forgotten this?” BJP leader asked.

He said that the Chief Minister’s allegation that the Election Commission is working at the behest of the BJP is baseless.

“Since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, during successive Congress governments, ten special voter list amendments have been carried out. This is a routine administrative process. Does the Chief Minister not know this historical fact?” Nagenthran said.

Rejecting DMK’s claim that voters’ names could be removed from the vetting process, the BJP leader said all the officials involved – from the Chief Electoral Officer to the District Collector, Revenue Officer and Village Administrative Officer – were government servants under the Tamil Nadu administration.

“If Stalin believes that process is being abused, is he saying that his own officials are dishonest?” he asked.

Nagenthran further alleged that the DMK was attempting to politicize the legitimate verification exercise to prevent illegal voting.

He said, “The amendment in the voter list is being done to ensure that infiltrators, including Bangladeshis, who have entered Tamil Nadu are not enrolled as voters. It is not to erase the names of genuine Tamil Nadu citizens.”

Accusing the ruling party of trying to divert attention from the failures of governance, Nagenthran said, “The DMK government wants to hide its inefficiencies – floods, bad roads, crop damage, water scarcity and corruption in school fees. But people have seen through these lies. No matter how much the Chief Minister changes his tune, people will not change their minds. DMK’s defeat is certain.”

–IANS